One-Winged Destiny
by Argent Energy
Summary: Jaune wanted to be a hero however both his parents denied him of even the thought of fighting Grimm. So he secretly made his own weapon, forged his transcripts, and enrolled into Beacon to pursue his dreams of becoming a hero like his parents, much to his surprise he was accepted. He soon finds out why he was denied his dreams however, as his parent's past catches up to their son.
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey there! Argent here! I'm kinda nervous since this is my first ever fic. And well. My first ever written piece. I really do not have any experience in writing. So anything you guys could point out would be nice.**_

 _ **There will be connections to FF 7 in this fic and I will explain why Jaune is SUBSTANTIALLY different to his canon Appearance mannerisms and fighting style. To put it simply, this jaune is an OC jaune.**_

 _ **So yeah. Criticism is welcome since this is my first fic and I dont really want to mess up.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1  
**

* * *

Jaune stood quietly beside a window, a mixture of excitement and nervousness filled the bullhead. Who wouldn't be? How can they NOT be excited AND be nervous when they were heading to one of the best huntsman Academies in all of remnant? However, Jaune wasn't nervous because of that. He was nervous because of his faked documents. It was a stupid idea in the first place and he wondered why he did it. A part of him wanted to celebrate. Maybe the transcripts got through? Maybe he somehow managed to trick them? We're they really that lenient on background checks? Or maybe they didn't? Is he going to get arrested? Are the police waiting for him at Beacon? Is he going to get captured and then interrogated?! Tortured even?! He gulped and shuddered at the thought. He closed his eyes and sighed. He wanted to become a hero, even though he had little training as a 10-year-old with a stick. Still, he had a dream! But now, well, now that he thought about it. He was a conman now, a common criminal.

"-Just want be a normal girl with normal knees!"

He opened his eyes and looked behind to see a cute, red-headed girl talking to a beautiful blonde girl.

"What's with you? Aren't you excited?" the blonde said.

"Of course I'm excited!... I just — I got moved ahead two years." The girl in red replied.

If he was drinking some sort of liquid right now he would've have spat it out in a comical manner. Two years? Holy cow! This girl must be a prodigy!

"I just don't want anyone to think I'm special or anything…"

" _A little too late to be worrying about that since you were basically yelling about having normal knees._ " he said in his thoughts.

"But you are special." The blonde said while comfortingly pulling the red-head towards her.

Their conversation however was cut off when a hologram of the news appeared. The anchorman was saying something about Roman Torchwick and his crimes the past few weeks in Vale. So far there were no murders. He had managed to avoid capture though. Really makes you think about the kingdom's police force. The next was news about the white fang. Jaune sighed. Call him a sympathizer or not, he still felt bad about the exploitation of faunus. He could more or less understand the plight of the faunus since his uncle would tell him the adventures of his parents against a greedy, powerful and evil corporation. His uncle was very enthusiastic in telling stories. He even used to get his old minigun-arm, which was pretty cool by the way, and show it off, saying that he once killed an all-powerful Dragon grim with it. He smiled a bit remembering his uncle. Still, even with the fall of Shinra 30 years ago, Greedy corporations still exist. 'After all that, they still learned nothing'. As the newscaster was about to finish the story the holoscreen suddenly changed to show a beautiful blonde woman with green eyes and a stern look. She was very formal down to her attire, even with that weird cape she's wearing.

"Hello and welcome to beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch."

She began her brief welcome to beacon academy. Jaune couldn't help but feel afraid of her. She looked like one of those 'strict and proper' teachers who would take their jobs too seriously. After the welcome message was over the nervousness and fear came back with the thoughts of arrest came back. He felt his stomach coil. He looked outside to see that they were already descending. 'Not good' he thought. He then remembered about that greasy cheap burger he had for a snack 3 hours ago. "Definitely not- urk…good". He always hated the feeling of a descent on an airborne vehicle. Though most of the time he was able to wing it. This was not one of those times. He tried to find a nearby trashcan. He couldn't find any. He couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Aaaah!Yaaang! you got some on your shoe. Ew! Gross, gross, gross, GROSS!"

Jaune was too sick to even look at the girls' faces. As the Ship docked. He quickly zoomed passed a few people before finally finding a trashcan to continue vomiting on.

A few minutes passed before his stomach finally calmed down. He looked in awe at the school. He was here, He was finally here no proper training or experience…but he was here…No one was waiting for him. He almost shed a tear but took a deep breath.

"Alright. Here we go."

He walked towards the school. He adjusted the sword on his back so that at least he would look the part. He took a deep breath again but stopped.

"Wait…where was I supposed to go agai-"

His train of thought was cut when something exploded behind him which startled him.

"Unbelievable!"

Well in this case, someone. He turned around and see a familiar Red headed girl being scolded by a beautiful white haired girl. ' _Wait, She was the one that exploded?! And is it just me or is every girl in this school either pretty, cute and beautiful_?' he thought to himself. Still it looked like the white-haired angel was giving the red haired girl hell for what ever happened. _"How does one even explode?"_. He saw the dust vials on the ground. _'oh.'_ He hummed to himself. Dust is pretty dangerous after all.

"hey I said I was Sorry princess!" the red haired girl glared as she replied in an aggressive tone. This was getting out of hand. He wanted to approach to at least diffuse the situation. He knew he doesn't have the right to interfere. But it looked like the red haired girl really need someone to back her. However he stopped when another beautiful girl, now with black hair and yellow eyes and a cute bow to boot, approach the two of them. ' _Seriously, is this a huntsman academy or a fashion academy?!_ '

"It's heiress actually. Wiess Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

'Wait, did she say Schnee?' looked at the Schnee carefully. ' _Mom always did say to avoid interacting with corporate rich snobby girls_ '.

"Finally some recognition!" The Schnee huffed in pride, until the black haird girl continued.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners."

The Schnee stuttered trying to hold back unlady-like words from her dignified mouth. The red haired girl giggled. The Schnee then chose to just get away from them with and angry 'ugh!'. Jaune moved away when the heiress passed.

* * *

 **Ruby POV**

* * *

Ruby was relieved to see the ice-queen leave.

"I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day…so-!"

She turned around to introduce herself and thank the person who helped her. However when she turned around she saw the black haired girl with the cute bow already walking far away from her.

She groaned and sat on the ground, mentally exhausted. She sighed and laid on her back.

"Welcome to Beacon…"

She looked up the sky. It turned out to be a bad idea since the sun was there and it blinded her a bit. however the sun was then blotted out by a shadow. She turned to the source and saw a White haired boy with eyes that matched the color of the summer sky dressed in a black coat with silver chestplate on top of it, reaching out to her

"Need any help?" He looked down to her with a smile.

She smiled back and accepted his hand.

"thanks."

"No problem. What was that about?" he asked.

"ugh…it was nothing. Just a little scuffle due to an accident" she answered. She looked at him more closely.

"My names Jaune. Jaune St- Arc." He introduced himself

"I'm Ruby, nice to meet you…Wait, Aren't you the guy that vomited on the airship?"

"ugh…" he winced and groaned.

The two walked around the campus for awhile. At first she was cautious around him, since well, he IS a stranger and Yang always told me to be cautious around strangers. Especially if they were guys. However Jaune was pretty cool, he has a lot of things he like that I like too, like comics and videogames…oh! He also has a collection of the latest 'Reds and Blues' action figures! That certainly was a plus for her since she now has someone to talk to about those things. Yang used to love them. Well. Used to. Nowadays shes more or less focused on fashion and her hair more than anything. Speaking of which-

"I wanted to apologize to you about...you know. And that girl who I had A LITTLE of my puke on her boot too."

"nah you'll be fine!... I think. My sister may be a hothead but I'm sure that she'll be reasonable."

"she's your sister?" He was surprised, they looked nothing alike after all.

"Yeah! Don't worry I get that a lot. She and I just had different mothers. Even so, we're sisters no matter what."

"Well… Okay."

Silence and awkwardness came as they continued to stroll through the campus. She wondered what would happen if her sister saw the two of them walking side by side. She sneaked a glance at him. She concluded that he definitely did not look ugly. He had spikey white hair that reminded her of those Mistralian Anime heroes. Pretty cliché but he kinda looked good with it, it suited him naturally. He certainly looked the part with that coat of his. He also wore this natural smile which looked pretty cute.

"!" she flinched.

'Oh gods did I really just think about how cute this guy is?!' She felt herself blush as she realized what she had just said in her mind. She fidgeted and hid her face with her hands and groaned. 'Stupid puberty! Stupid Social awkwardness!' she exclaimed in her mind. A while ago she would've just ignored all that hormones thing.

"Are you okay? You're flushed."

She looked at him again only to see him staring at her with genuine worried eyes. He was genuinely worried about her. Her face turned even redder than before.

"I'm okay! Really! Peachy! I am the pinnacle of health!" she quickly answered while waving her hands in front of her. Her eye twitched at the ridiculousness of her answer.

* * *

 **Jaune POV**

* * *

"uhh…okay?" He still looked worried. Her face is very red and she's stammering. She was breathing really hard.

"Just a sec." he stopped walking which also prompted her to stop. He then put his hand on her forehead. She squeaked at the sudden action.

"Sorry, woah! You're burning up! You sure you don't need a doctor?"

"I- I- I- I- I'm fine!" she jumped away from him.

"w-well if you say so…" He accepted her answer. She's a huntress after all.

Ruby then cleared her throat as they started to walk again.

"S-so! I'd like to introduce you to my baby!" she said.

"Baby?!"

"Oh! I-I-It's not a real baby per se, here!" She clarified.

She suddenly unsheathed her weapon which looked to be a gun which then shifted into a HUGE scythe.

"This is Crescent Rose! My one and only! I made her myself you know! She's also a high impact sniper rifle."

She huffed proudly as she showed off her scythe.

"woah." He looked in awe. It certainly looked cool and also well maintained! The thing was practically shining! It reminded him his dad's buster sword because it had so many moving parts. He always wondered how these mechanically advanced weapons could endure being used to hit things without breaking into pieces.

"So what do you have?" She asked as she shouldered Crescent Rose.

"oh uh…I have this sword." He unsheathed his katana to show her. It was a fairly simple blade. It didn't turn into anything else. The sword had a standard black hilt and a simple circular guard.

"I made this myself too….though it just with parts you can buy at any weapon shop minus the blade. It's fairly simple. Okay yeah it's just a regular sword if anything. The sheath's the only complex thing about it." He explained.

"The sheath? Oh yeah! Why do you carry it on your back?" She asked. Good question though. It wasn't really that common to wear a Katana on your back.

"My dad's a huntsman and always wore his sword on his back. He says it's easier to move in tight spaces with it. That and the fact that his sword is huge, and I do mean HUGE. And the sheath? Well I had it made with the purpose to be easily used while wearing on you back. It's really comfy." Yeah, and expensive too.

"I guess after seeing my dad with his, I just felt accustomed to it." He continued while giving her the weapon.

"hmm…well it certainly is a good weapon." She examined it.

"It's well maintained too. It's a good weapon." She continued. 'Of course its well-maintained! I spent a month's worth of allowance to buy just the hilt! Why are these so expensive!?' he exclaimed in his head. Speaking of which.

"Though you could've used a different brand on the hilt. The Wesson brand may be sturdy and fairly durable, but its maintenance and replacement kits are always really expensive. There are other brands that have better specs with cheaper kits." She said.

"Say what now? I just thought the most expensive one was the best one!" He twitched.

"Well yeah, sure, it's the best, but the best also needs the best to be used and maintained at its best." she said as she gave it back.

"that's a lot of bests. I'll keep that in mind." He sighed and drooped.

"Hey don't worry about it. I'm sure beacon has maintenance kits for all weapons. And who knows! We're now students of beacon. I'm sure the shops in Vale would give us some great discounts!"

Jaune sighed. He frowned for a bit but then smiled at Ruby.

"You really know your stuff huh?" Jaune commented.

"Yeah! I really love weapons! They're like an extension of us! I mean we are huntsmen and huntresses after all. What would we be if not for our signature weapons?"

"well-"

Their conversation was cut when an announcement was made at a nearby speaker. A familiar voice spoke. It was that Glynda woman.

"Attention to all new-comers. Please be informed that the general assembly will commence in 10 minutes. Please proceed to the auditorium and assemble yourselves in an orderly fashion. That is all."

The announcement ended. Jaune and Ruby looked at each other.

Jaune smiled at her.

"Shall we go my lady?" he mimicked a gesture from one of those sappy fairy tales where a chivalrous knight escorts a maiden.

"We shall." She answered also mimicking a noble girl.

She snickered. He snickered. They both laughed before they followed the other students that were also heading to the Auditorium.

* * *

 _ **Let's end it with that. His first friend in beacon. Next chapter will delve on making more connections and relationships (no not that kind of relationship). Also, Initiation time!...yeah...woo...**_

 _ **I really hope you guys liked the first part.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Connections**

Yang arrived at the Auditorium 15 minutes before the program started. Most of the new arrivals were already here and the Auditorium was packed. She really hated cramped spaces since there's so little space to move around with. And with her experience with clubs, there will always be that one guy who tries his luck and try to touch her gods given 'gifts'. There were already attempts the past few hours. She counted about 13 guys trying to pick her up. She positioned herself on a wall so that she could avoid contact with these pervs. She didn't want to cause a scene and get detention on her first day due to some poor bloke's broken nose. Though it would've been pretty cool. She wondered about Ruby for while she was waiting for the assembly to start. She wondered if her adorable little sister was okay on her own. What if she's all alone out there? What if she got found by a bully? What if she now hated her because she left her alone? What if somebody's taking advantage of her? So many questions, so little time. She looked around for Ruby amongst the crowd. No such luck however and it was irritating her.

"Ugh! Darn it!"

She moved towards the entrance to try and find her sister. 'This was a stupid idea! I never should've left her alone!'. She was getting angrier as she worried. Her eyes literally turned red.

"Yang! Heeeey! Over here!"

Yang stopped in her tracks and looked beside her. She finally found Ruby. Her anger was quickly defused. When she approached Ruby she saw her talking comfortably with a familiar white-haired scraggly kid. He didn't look much to be honest. Still, she can't let her guard down.

"He-" Yang tried to greet her sister.

"I can't believe you left me alone like that!" Ruby furiously said.

"How else were you supposed to make friends?" She answered in an unapologetic tone.

"Besides." She looked to the boy. "I guess it worked." She winked at him.

The boy blushed but immediately composed himself.

"I-I guess it did. My names Jaune by the way. Jaune Arc." He held his hand out for a shake.

"I'm Ruby's sister. Yang Xiao Long at your service." She shook his hand. However he immediately winced and whimpered in pain as she strengthened her grip.

"And don't think I've forgiven you for puking on my boots yet, Vomit boy." She grinned at him.

"yeahyeahyeah!agh! I'm sorry! I wanted to apologize for that! Argh!"

"Yang! Stop that!Bad Sister! Bad!" Ruby tried to stop her sister from crushing the poor guy's hand.

Yang finally let go with a satisfied 'hmph'. She turned to Ruby. She noticed that Ruby was covered in dirt and soot.

"You look like you went through hell and back. Anything interesting happen while I was away?" she asked.

"huh? Oh! Right!...eh em. I can't believe you left me alone like that! It was horrible! I exploded sis! EXPLODED! Do you know how embarrassed I was when this mean girl just started to lecture me about Dust and Stuff! I know what Dust and she didn't have to be so mean and snarky about it! I apologized too! 3 times! I mean yeah I tripped over this crabby girl's luggage but I didn't mean to!" Ruby whined.

As Ruby was talking to her sister Jaune felt something cold beside him, like the air had just froze at his side. He turned to see a the same white haired girl that Ruby was talking about. She was there. Just standing. Listening. He saw that the girl's aura and expression change slowly as Ruby kept talking.

"Umm…Ruby?" Jaune tried to grab Ruby's attention.

She didn't hear him. She just complained about how the person beside him was one of the meanest girl she'd met.

"Rub-" As he tried to grab her attention again, the white haired girl put an arm between him and Ruby and glared at him which prompted him to shut his mouth and freeze.

"You!"

Ruby was surprised by the sudden voice and turned to only to see an enraged heiress.

"Eeep! Oh gods not again!" Ruby practically teleported behind her sister.

"You're lucky that we weren't beside the cliff!" the heiress exclaimed.l

"oh my god you really exploded…" Yang thought that it was just an exaggeration.

"It was an accident! It was an accident!"

"An accident that nearly cost us our lives had we been close to the cliff." The heiress glared at her.

Yang tried to interject but a certain somebody beat her to it.

"Alright! Alright! Calm down. Both of you. You two are making a scene." Juane tried to diffuse the situation. The girls looked around them and saw that everyone was looking at them. Both girl's blushed. Ruby's faced was beet red with embarrassment and Weiss, although also blushing cause of embarrassment, cleared her throat and composed herself.

"Nothing to see here people." Yang loudly said.

Sure enough people turned their attention away from the group. Either from respect of privacy or Yang's glare.

Jaune turned to the girls again.

"Look. It was just an accident. It happens, especially in a school filled with weapons, explosives and other things that could kill things. Why don't you two introduce yourselves? Maybe you'll learn a little bit from each other. And maybe become friends in the process." Jaune calmly stated.

"Yeah, I'm sure that you two just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you two start over and try to be friends?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. Ruby left her sister's back and stood in front of Weiss.

"Hmm. Alright. Good idea. Ehem. Hello Weiss, I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out? We could go shop for school supplies." Ruby held her hand out to shake Weiss's.

"Yeah, and we can paint our nails, try on clothes, and talk about cute boys like tall, black, and scraggly over here." Weiss sarcastically answered in a somewhat sarcastic cheery tone while gesturing towards Jaune.

"I'm…sorry?" Juane was confused and somewhat annoyed.

"Wow! Really?!" Ruby's eyes shined.

"No." Weiss answered with a blank look and a monotone voice.

Their conversation was cut though as the microphone turned on. They turned to the stage and saw a grey haired man with green clothes and a cane.

"I'll keep this brief. You traveled here today in search of knowledge and training. To hone your skills. And when you finish, you plan to dedicate your lives to the protection of the people. However… I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose and direction. Being a huntsman or a huntress is so much more than just killing Grimm. Your time in school will help you realize this… and that knowledge and skill can only carry all of you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

The man ended his speech before walking away off stage. Professor Goodwitch then replaced him for an announcement.

"You will gather at the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow the initiation begins. Be ready."

The professor left the stage leaving the new students to themselves.

"That was… somewhat unnerving." Jaune commented.

"He seemed kinda off." Yang said.

"It's almost like he wasn't even there." Ruby retorted.

Jaune was somewhat unnerved by the man. He swore that he saw the man staring at them. Specifically him and Ruby. They became silent for a moment.

"Well what now?" Ruby broke the ice.

"We should do as Professor Goodwitch says." Jaune answered. It wasn't always a good idea to ignore a teacher's instructions.

"Well anyway, here." Weiss approached Ruby and gave her what looked like a pamphlet.

Jaune almost forgot that she was there at all.

"Dust for dummies?" He read the front of the Pamphlet.

"Dummy?! Who are yo-" Ruby was somewhat angry.

"It's so that none of what happened this morning ever happens again." Wiess huffed and walked away from the group.

"What an Ice queen…" Yang commented.

"Tell me about it." Jaune agreed.

"You alright Rubes?" Yang pat her sisters back to cheer her up.

"Cheer up Ruby, I'm sure Weiss was just worried about you when she gave you that pamphlet."

Ruby stared at him with a deadpan look.

"Probably…" Jaune added.

"Well lets go then. We should head over to the ballroom and check on our stuff." Yang proposed.

"Okay. You coming Jaune?" Ruby turned to Jaune.

"You guys go on ahead. I'm gonna look around for a bit. Maybe look for a weapon shop."

"A weapon-?!" Ruby's eyes shined, she wanted to go with him and check out Beacon's weapon shop too. However Yang interjected and stopped her sister.

"A weapon shop? Why are you going to a weapon shop?" Yang asked while putting her arm around Ruby.

"Well… It's kinda embarrassing." Jaune scratched the back of his neck.

"embarrassing?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Well currently I only have my sword and nothing else."

"So?"

"Have you seen everyone else's weapons here?"

"So?"

Jaune sighed.

"I'm the only one here who doesn't have a fancy weapon like everyone else's. It makes me feel different."

Yang looked around and saw that everyone's weapons had a secondary or even a tertiary feature. Maybe even more. She then looked at Jaune's sword. She grinned at him.

"Well don't worry Vomitboy, It doesn't matter how fancy it is, what matters is how you use it." She winked.

Jaune blushed at what she said. While Ruby just looked at them confused.

"S-still. I need at least a ranged weapon. Professor Goodwitch DID tell us to get ready for tomorrow."

"hmm. Good point. Well we'll see ya later then, Vomitboy!"

Jaune took a deep breath and smiled as the two girls left _."So far so good."_ Jaune made his way outside the auditorium and wandered around beacon. He looked at his scroll and saw that it was still noon. Plenty of time to explore. He wandered for a bit before stumbling to a park behind what he assumed to be the main school building. He could only describe it as serene and peaceful. It looked like one of those favorite dating spots for couples. Though he knew that sooner or later that this place would soon be filled with students. He sat down a nearby bench and sighed. His mind began to worry again as he thought about the initiation that would begin the sound of how the professor said it. It wasn't a written test like in a normal school. No, this was a school for hunters after all. He knew that this initiation would involve fighting grimm. Or maybe even older huntsmen. He began to shiver at the thought of getting beaten to a bloody pulp. After all, he still hasn't had his aura unlocked. He knew that a huntsman needed aura to fight the grimm. He studied a lot about huntsmen and grimm at a local library in vale before Beacon opened. He had actually looked for someone to unlock it for him. However when he found that person he found out that it actually costed a lot to unlock your aura. It took a lot of skill and knowledge of aura to even analyze it. That's why most young huntsmen and huntresses in training come from a family of Huntsmen and huntresses. They could just ask their parents to unlock it for them. It took a lot of lien to build his weapon and armor while procuring a forged transcript so he just had to attend without it.

"Worrying like this won't get me anywhere." He muttered to himself.

He stood up and started to search for the weapon shop again, now exiting the park. He asked for directions from fellow students hoping that they would know. So far, nothing. He then heard a rather loud and energetic voice behind him.

"I don't know Renny, I think that we should get more explosives! I mean, more explosions means more fun right?"

A cheery orange haired girl energetically told her friend.

"Nora. Explosions attract grimm. We can't risk an army of grimm surrounding us. We'll be dead by the time the initiation ends." The black haired boy replied.

"We can take'em." The girl said.

"Also we don't have enough money to buy more grenades. We agreed to split our money equally. The salesperson back at the shop was kind enough to give us discounts." The boy said.

Though the mention of "salesperson" however caught his attention. He turned towards them, however they were still talking and waited for them to finish it.

"But we still have a bit of lien left right?"

"Sure. But if we spend it then we won't have enough to buy ingredients for my special panca-"

"Grenades? Who needs grenades? Pffft. Who ever said that we should spend a lot? We should totally save our money for more important stuff!" the girl quickly exclaimed.

The boy smiled. The boy then noticed a white haired boy staring at them looking like he wanted to say something.

"Can I help you?" the boy asked.

"Oh, sorry. Umm. Yes actually. Can I ask where the weapons shop here in Beacon is?" Jaune asked.

"Oh, sure. It's just down this hallway and take a left. There will be a sign there with a large sword and shield on it." The boy answered.

"Thanks! You guys new too?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, we were just preparing for the initiation. My name's Lie Ren. And this is Nora Valkyrie." Ren introduced himself and then gestured towards the girl.

"Hi! I'm Nora!" the girl energetically shook his hand. It hurt a lot by the way.

"I'm Jaune. Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you both."

"You too." Ren replied.

"Also, sorry about eavesdropping." Jaune apologized. It mustve looked weird to them. He was just standing there after all, just staring at them.

"Don't worry about it." Ren smiled at him.

"Oh! Renny! We should go set up our tent! We can't let other people grab the best spots at the ballroom!" Nora pulled her friends arm.

"Sorry Jauney but we have to go." Nora looked at him

"Yeah, sure. No problem. Have fun."

"Wait Nor-" Ren was cut off as Nora practically dragged him away.

He let out a small chuckle at the pair. They seemed like a fun duo. After the two left Jaune followed Ren's Instructions. He found the shop. The bell rung as he entered the shop. The place was quite roomy, there were different kinds of weapon parts and accessories in display. A bunch of different types of ammo were showcased in a glass case along with different kinds of dust. He approached the counter looking for the salesperson.

"Hello?"

No answer. He looked around and saw no one. He tried to call out again.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

No answer again. 'Is there no one here?' he thought to himself.

"Helloooo?"

The only thing that replied was the sound of silence.

"Hell-"

"Yes! What can I getcha?" a sudden voice from behind sounded.

"Bwah!" Jaune jumped in surprise and accidentally stumbling over the counter and fell on his back. He closed his eyes in pain and groaned.

"Are ya okay there?" a feminine voice asked.

"Yeah, Yeah…I'm fine." He opened his eyes to see a black haired girl covered in ash wearing bronze goggles and an apron that's used by blacksmiths. She held out her hand and hoisted him up.

"Sorry about that, the shopkeeper is currently away so the only one currently managin' the shop right now is me." She said.

"It's alright. You're the saleslady here?" He asked.

"What? No! didn't I say that the shopkeeper is away? I'm the blacksmith. Though I'm just coverin' for that damn girl today. Do ya know how hard it is to manage a shop and maintain dozens of weapons? It's hard. Like really hard. So, whatcha buyin'?" She clarified and complained.

"Right. So…I'm looking for a ranged weapon."

"Ya gotta be a little more specific there, buddy."

Jaune turned to the pre-made weapons in display. He turned his attention to the firearms. He thought about it hard. He could get a rifle but carrying it around would be troublesome. Shotguns are nice too but theyre only for close quarter combat, not really that useful for long range combat. Nade launchers? Nah, too chaotic. It would be useless in tight spaces or fragile caves. Rocket launcher? Out of the question. Flame thrower maybe? Or an smg. No he needed something easy and light to use. He turned towards the pistol area.

A particular gun caught his eye.

"Hey how much is that?"

Jaune pointed at a peculiar pistol. The pistol was all black save for the barel. It was adorned with a bluish design which looked like vines surrounding said pistol and was equipped with a laser sight.

"Oh? Good eye ya got there. The Cerulean Ivy, made with alloy from Atlas and was designed to be heat resistant and extremely durable so ya won't have to worry about it overheating when yer using some high quality dust rounds and when ya switch to semi-auto mode. Ya can put regular pistol bullets in it or mini-shotgun shells if ya fancy it too. It comes with a free holster and 5 magazines. And it could be yers for a hefty price of 6000 lien." The blacksmith grinned at him as she pulled it out of the glass case and showed it off.

Jaune wanted it. He wanted it bad.

"6000?! For a pistol? I could buy a crate of dust with that!" he exclaimed.

"Listen kid. Quality materials make Quality weapons. Especially when the gun smith knows what she's doin', My sister made this ya know, "One of my greatest master pieces" she said."

Jaune couldn't disagree. It was an amazing weapon. If Ruby was here she would've already been drooling over it.

"d-do you have anything else? Preferably something worth…I dunno. Less than say…500 lien?"

He smiled awkwardly at the smith.

"pffft. Haahahahaha!"

The smith laughed at him while clutching her stomach and wiped a tear of her eye. Jaune couldn't help but stare in confusion.

"ha~ haven't laughed like that in awhile. 'Course ya can't afford this. Yer still a student after all. This is meant for the big leagues." She put the gun back in the glass case.

"so… 500 huh? Well ya cant buy a premade weapon with that kind of money. The cheapest ones stop at 650."

Jaune winced. He only had 600 with him.

"D-don't I get a discount?"

"It's already discounted buddy."

Jaune sighed as he drooped and became depressed. The smith noticed him slouch and frown.

"Though we do have a bag of non-lethal freeze grenades on sale."

Jaune perked up his head.

"It won't explode into a dozen icicles like a regular Ice grenade, though it'll temporarily freeze an enemy's body part. Mass produced and common, easy to make too. Mostly used by the Vale Police Department to catch ad detain criminals. I have a rucksack full of 'em Tell ya what. I'll give all of 'em to ya for 550 lien."

The smith smiled at him.

"Wait. Really?" Jaune couldn't believe it.

"Sure! To be honest no one really needs or uses it here. That rucksack's been here for over a year now. There used to be a box, but we repurposed it for newer and better merchandise. Hunters prefer the dangerous kind ya know?"

It made sense, what kind of hunter uses a non-lethal grenade for Grimm? It wasn't like they could use it to detain grimm. The smith went to get the bag of grenades and gave it to him.

"here ya can check it out if ya want to." The smith said with a smile.

Jaune nodded and muttered a thanks to the smith. He knelt down, opened the bag and pulled out one of the freeze grenades.

They were quite small for grenades. They were the size of D sized batteries, meant to be holstered on the belt or stored in a sachel or a hip pack commonly used by police officers. Then an idea popped up in his head.

"this will do."

He smiled at the smith.

"Well then that settles it!"

"You're not gonna ask why I'm gonna use non-lethal grenades on grimm?"

"No. By the look of yer face from before, ya look like ya already know what to do with it. Imagination is a powerful tool for a hunter."

' _Imagination is a powerful tool huh?'_ he quoted inside his head.

They both went to the counter to properly complete the transaction. Jaune slung the rucksack over his shoulder.

"Thanks again miss..."

"Sachiko, Sachiko Kurogane. Proud Mistralian and one of the master smiths here at beacon. Ya can call me Sachi." She held out a hand to him.

"Jaune Arc, nice to meet you."

He turned around to the exit and walked excitedly only to bump into a person as that person opened the shop's door.

He fell to the ground with a loud thud and groaned.

"Two times the charm…ugh…" he quietly muttered.

"Sorry about that. Are you okay?" The girl asked as she smiled and held out a hand to help him up.

"Yeah, I'm good."He accepted it as he stood up and inspected on the person he bumped into. He was awestruck for a moment though. This person, this girl was gorgeous! She was wearing bronze and brown armor that showed her toned yet slender shoulder and arms. Her armor was also decorated with gold accents and emerald gems. She wore a golden tiara on her bright red hair which gave more emphasis on her beautiful emerald eyes.

' _great another girl that's out of my league'_ he said in his mind.

The smith then approached.

"You okay there Jau-" The smith asked but froze when she saw the girl with widened eyes. The red haired girl winced at this reaction but put on a smile.

"you-, you-…You're…"

Jaune alternated between Sachi and the girl, looking at them with a confused gaze.

"Miss Sachi? Hello? Miss Sachi?" He waved his hand infront of her eyes as she froze.

Jaune then turned to the girl.

"Sorry about that.I should've looked where I was going." He scratched the back of his head and smiled.

"No, no It's fine. Really. "She gave him a polite smile.

"It was rude of me to bump into you like that. Are you sure you're alright Miss...?"

She was quite surprised at what he said though he did not know why.

"Phyrra Nikos…" She introduced herself as she held out a hand.

"Jaune Arc." He shook her hand.

"And it's fine... I have my Aura to protect me so it didn't hurt me at all." She assured him.

"Right…Aura hahaha…"He scratched his head and laughed in an awkward tone. He almost forgot about a hunter's aura.

"Miss…Sachi? Are you okay?" He turned to the smith.

"oh…yeah…yeah…I'm…I'm fine…" She seemed to have calmed down now.

He turned back to Phyrra whom was smiling at him brightly for some reason.

"Well I should go, I still have to find a spot at the Assembly room to sleep on."

"Oh! I shouldn't keep you."

As Jaune was walking away Phyrra called out.

"Also…"

He turned around.

"Good luck tomorrow, Jaune." She smiled sweetly at him.

He slightly blushed at the girl's beautiful smile. He nodded at the girl with a reassuring smile.

"Thanks."

He nodded and left the girl and Sachi back at the shop. Though he looked back Sachi still looked frozen though. He hoped that she was okay.

The sun was already setting when he reach the ballroom. What greeted him when he entered was a multitude of students already claiming their spot. He looked around the area. The place was what he would expect a ball room would look like. Large windows with fancy curtains, chandeliers hung from above. They seemed to be dust powered, however they weren't on. The only thing illuminating the area were a few lights mounted on the walls like torches.

"Are you Jaune Arc?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

He turned to where the voice originated and saw a really large guy in green armor, he had a huge sword on his back like one of his dad's swords. This was colored bronze however. He would've been intimidating however this person has gentle eyes and a somewhat disciplined and calm demeanor.

"Yes. That's me." He answered.

"My name is Yatsuhashi Daichi, I am here to assist the professors to watch over the new students and give them their locker numbers. It seems you are the last one to come."

"Sorry. I got lost looking for the weapon shop. Can't hurt to be prepared right?" He scratched the back of his neck.

"It is good to see at least a few new comers preparing for the initiation tomorrow." Yatsuhashi looked towards the other newcomers.

"They do seem to be taking it easy. Aren't they worried about tomorrow?" Jaune noticed that most of the students seem pretty lax. They were just bickering, he noticed a few guys wrestling trying to show off their muscles and toned bodies to the huntresses in training. Full of confidence. Something he lacked greatly. He wondered if that kind of confidence is needed in this line of duty. He did notice the lack of students at the shop though.

"It's a common mistake for newbies." Another voice sounded behind Yatsuhashi.

Jaune tilted slightly to see behind Yatsuhashi's large body and saw a rather fashionable girl wearing a beret and sunglasses.

"Kids. They'll soon learn though. Pain is a good teacher after all." The girl smirked.

"Coco. Is there something you need?" Yatsuhashi asked her.

"The professors are calling for us. Come on." She answered.

"I see. I'm sorry Jaune but I must go. Here is your locker number." Yatsuhashi gave him a piece of paper with numbers on it.

"Ah, Thanks."

"Good luck tomorrow kid." The girl said to him.

"I wish you good luck Jaune. Till we meet again." Yatsuhashi bowed and the duo left.

"Thanks again."

He inspected the piece of paper.

"Locker 636." He muttered to himself.

His trip to the lockers was quick. He thanked the gods that the lockers were all arranged numerically. It would've been impractical and downright irresponsible for this school to have an unorganized locker area. He put his weapon and armor inside the locker including the freeze grenades that were still in the rucksack. He took off his coat right after he finished arranging his equipment leaving him with only a white shirt and his black jean pants. He tried to smell his shirt only to crinkle his nose in the smell of dried sweat.

"ugh… where did they even put my luggage?..."

"Over there." A voice answered.

"Woah!" He quickly turned around and saw the same black haired girl from this morning also putting her equipment in the locker just adjacent to his.

"It's right behind isle 8, they piled up so you're going to have to search for it." The girl added.

"I…see. Thanks…" He looked at her yellow eyes and was instantly reminded of his pet cat, Pebbles.

"No problem." She closed her locker and left.

He then went towards isle 8 and went behind it, only to see that various duffel bags were scattered and half-heartedly stacked. He could tell that this didn't use to look like this since a part of it was neatly stacked.

Jaune sighed and started to rummage hoping to find his name. It took quite a while to find it.

Ruby hummed as she wrote a letter to her friends back at Signal. Despite her social awkwardness she had made quite a few good friends there. Writing letters might be a thing of the past now since almost everyone in the kingdoms used scrolls to send emails to each other. Well at least inside the kingdoms. Most of the towns and villages outside the kingdoms still used messengers though somewhat uncommonly. She and her friends agreed to use this method because to her and them, it was cool. It had a fancy allure to it.

"This is just like one big giant slumber party!"

yang plopped down beside her.

"I'm not sure Dad would approve all the boys" Ruby rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure I do. Purrr~" Yang purred jokingly as she turned towards an area where the buff boys played wrestling. She could have laughed at how they were trying too hard to get their attention.

"Ewww sis!" Ruby commented.

She turned to Ruby.

"So watcha doin sis?"

"Just writing a letter for my friends back at signal." Ruby replied.

"Awww that's so cuuu-" Yang's tease was cut off as a pillow hit her face.

"You're just lucky you have friends here! I didn't get to bring mine…" Ruby sounded sad. Yang noticed this and decided to cheer her up.

"Don't worry I'm sure you'll make plenty of new friends here!" Yang encouraged her.

"easy for you to say. You already have friends here." Ruby continued to write.

"What about Jaune? I'm sure he counts as a friend. What about Wiess?"

"I'm sure Wiess counts as a negative friend." Ruby said with a deadpan look.

"Well… I guess Jaune is pretty nice." Ruby smiled as she still kept writing.

Yang smiled at her sister. True the guy did vomit on her boot but he was pretty nice. He seemed friendly enough.

"Speaking of Vomit boy, where is he? Haven't seen him for awhile." Yang propped herself up and squatted with her legs crossed and looked around for a certain white haired boy.

"yeah, where is he anyway?" Ruby stopped writing and looked around with her sister, only to find a familiar black haired girl reading a book.

"What is it Rubes?" Yang asked as she noticed her sister stare.

"That girl… she's the one that helped me this morning." She said.

"So you know her?"

"No, She walked away before I could talk to her."

"Well this is your chance! Lets go talk to her!"

"Wha- Yang wait!" Yang dragged her sister towards the black haired girl peacefully reading a book

Reading was Blake's favorite past time. It was the only time where she would truly be at peace, just as long as she isn't disturbed. The entire day was… interesting to say the least for her. She had met the actual heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. The long-time enemy of the White Fang. She had managed to stop herself from attacking the Schnee due to her Mentor's forceful teachings. That and the heiress' snobby attitude, typical for a Schnee. However this was a new beginning after all, a new life. She isn't some spy for the White Fang anymore. She's free now. If Adam was here, he would've told her to watch and gather intelligence on the school and students. Maybe even conduct an assassination attempt at the heiress.

Her mentor, Adam Taurus, wasn't always like that. She grew up with him in the White Fang after all. Back to when her Father was still the High Chieftain of the once peaceful organization. She left because now, all she could see in Adam was rage and madness. Rescue missions turned to assassination missions. Relief efforts became a means to acquire more weapons. This wasn't about helping the faunus anymore. To Adam. It was about revenge and subjugation.

She sighed as she read through the book. Her ears inside the bow twitched. She peeked up from her book and saw a Blonde girl dragging a Red haired girl by the arm while waving at her.

"Hellooo! I believe you two may know each other." The blonde waved.

This was going to be annoying.

Blake looked up from her book and looked at the red-haired girl. Yes. They've met but never really talked.

"Aren't you that girl that exploded?" she said before going back to her book.

"That was an acci- oh forget it. Yeah, my name's Ruby. But you can just call me crater-…hehe...Actually you can just call me Ruby." She awkwardly introduced herself to Blake.

"Okay." Blake answered half-heartedly and somewhat uninterested.

The two girls infront of Blake started to whisper to each other. Unknown to them she can hear them because of her cat ears.

"What are you doing?!" Yang quietly whispered and elbowed her sister.

"I don't know. Help me!" She quietly replied.

Yang turned to Blake and gave her a big smile.

"So! What's your name?" Yang asked.

Blake sighed and answered.

"Blake."

"Well Blake, I'm Yang! Ruby's Older sister!"

Blake just flipped a page on her book and ignored her.

"I like your bow! It goes great with your…pajamas!"

"Right." She said uninterestedly.

"uhh…Nice night dontcha think?" Yang uncomfortably continued.

"Yes… It's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book."

The two girls somewhat beamed on her answer.

" That I'll continue to read… as soon as you leave." After that she got back to her book.

"Yeah this girl's a lost cause." Yang said beside Ruby as she was ready to leave. However this peaked Ruby's interest and approached the girl.

"What's it about?" Ruby asked.

"huh?" Blake was surprised by her question.

"It's called 'the Man with two souls'. It's about-" Blake answered but she was cut off when a male voice interjected.

"-A tragedy about a man with two souls fighting for control over the body. It's quite a classic."

Blake looked beside her and saw a white-haired boy coming towards them. When she first saw him, she thought that he was a Schnee, she was suspicious at first but then shrugged it off when he heard him introduce himself to the red-haired girl from this morning. He was wearing a black short-sleeved hoodie with a picture of Pumpkin Pete's mascot on it and gray jogging pants. Blake had to admit that the smiling bunny was pretty cute. She wondered if he was a bit too warm under all that cotton but he looked fine. The thing she noticed the most though was the book he was holding. Another classic. 'Loveless' an epic about three men's endeavor to find the gift of the goddess. She was surprised someone still reads epic poems these days.

"Jaune! There you are! Where have you been?!" Ruby approached him and tried giving him a friendly hug but her sister stopped her before she could.

"Sorry, I got a little delayed." He answered before turning to Blake.

"Delayed isan understatement." Yang commented.

"Thanks fort earlier." He thanked Blake.

 _'Oh right, I met him at the lockers a while ago…'_

"you're welcome." She replied.

"So what are you girls doing?" He asked the sisters.

"We were just talking to Blake here." Yang answered.

Blake nodded as Jaune turned to her.

"That book…" Blake looked at the book on his hand.

"Oh this? This…this is nothing. I'm sure yours is more interesting. This isn't like most novels out there. It's mostly just one big poem. I like it though." He answered.

"Oh really?" Blake had doubts. It's very rare to find teenagers who like old school epic poems.

"Yeah… I like it. It's kinda sad though." His brows furrowed upwards as if sympathizing the characters in the epic.

"Why?" Ruby tilted her head.

"Well the epic chronicles the story of 3 men. Each seeking the Goddess's Gift. However the 2 men were soon corrupted as they pursued their journey while only one of them remained pure. Their obsession got the best of them. The 2 men tricked and a lied to the other one and used him just because he was weak and simple. One was a warrior who had power, strength, and prestige and had sought the gifts to gain more. Another was a prince who had wealth, intelligence, and influence who sought the gifts to build an empire. The last had nothing, a simple farmer with neither power nor wealth. All he had was his kindness and his will to help others. He sought the gifts neither for power nor wealth. But for wisdom. Wisdom to help the people, wisdom to save his lover from death's door."

Jaune paused and noticed that the girl's we're now sitting comfortably listening on the rundown of his Book. He blushed in embarrassment as he fidgeted a bit as they stared.

"What happened next?" Ruby was very interested as to what happened next.

"Yeah, don't leave us with just that vomit boy!" yang added.

"Well-" Jaune tried to say something but Blake interjected.

"To properly enjoy an epic, you have to read the whole thing. Not just a summary." Blake respected books and stories. It was even rarer to find a kindred spirit in a school full of monster killers. Even rarer to find someone who actually likes old epic poems.

The two girl's groaned. Jaune scratched his head and smiled at the two girls. He looked at Blake and mouthed a thank you. The whole series was 6 books long after all. He had only read up to 4 while he still needed a bookstore who still sells old epic poem books to find the last two. He had been rereading the 4 books the past few years since his uncle, Vincent, gave him the first book back when he was still a kid. Plus he didn't really want to spend the rest of the night telling a summarized story of his favorite book.

"I didn't take you for the reading kind, Ruby." Jaune commented at Ruby's interest in the epic.

"I don't really read that much. But I do love story books. Yang used to read me bed time stories every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters. They're one of the reasons I wanna be a huntress."

Jaune smiled at the girl's reply. It was no different from his reason for aspiring to be a huntsman. He wanted to be a hero, someone who saves people and someone who people look up to.

"And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake asked.

"Well I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in those books. Someone who fought for what was right and who protected people who couldn't protect themselves." Ruby answered.

"That's very ambitious for a child. Unfortunately the real world isn't the same as those in fairy tales." Blake looked down as she remembered the old white fang.

"Well that's why we're here… to make it better." Ruby smiled as she said these words which Blake also smiled back.

"Oh I'm so proud of you lil' sis!" Yang began to smother Ruby in a big hug much to Ruby's discomfort.

"Gah! Cut it out!" Ruby struggled.

They both tussled to the ground as they started to bicker. Jaune moved closer to Blakes side and asked.

"Are we not gonna stop them? It's getting pretty late. And they're being a bit noisy."

Blake agreed with the boy's sentiment.

"Ruby, Yang…You-" Blake was cut off when a loud angry voice sounded.

"What is all this ruckus!? Don't you realize that people are trying to sleep?!"Wiess stomped towards them.

"Oh not you again!" Yang screamed.

"Shhhh! You guys! You're being too noisy! She's right, people are trying to sleep." Ruby tried to diffuse the oncoming argument after realizing her mistake.

"Oh, so now you're on my side?" Weiss sarcastically said.

Blake sighed and closed her book and put it beneath her pillow. She got ready to move away to a quieter place however stopped as Jaune approached the girls with a sigh.

"We have long day tomorrow so it's best that ALL of us turn in and put this behind out backs. We have to be at peak shape for tomorrow's initiation." Jaune said as he got in between the girls.

The girl's stared at each other for a moment before agreeing with Jaune. Weiss left with an audible "humph" while Yang did the same. Ruby let out a sigh of relief and gave her thanks to Jaune as she left.

Jaune turned towards Blake.

"Shame though, had you left that sweet spot, I'd have replaced you." Jaune jokingly said.

"So why didn't you?" Blake asked.

"Because that spot is yours after all. You found it first. Besides, it won't matter since we'll be given dorm rooms after the initiation." Jaune answered.

"Good point. Good night Jaune."

"Good night Blake." Jaune turned around and went to his sleeping spot amidst other students.

Blake laid down onto her sleeping bag. Her initial thoughts about Jaune when she first saw him was that he was just some childish kid but he was also quite mature as well. Though he kinda looked weak. He had no calluses on his hands or showed any kind of experience with handling weapons. A newbie. 'How was he able to get accepted at Beacon?' Blake thought as she finally slept.

Jaune couldn't sleep. He laid there just staring into the ceiling. A frown formed in his face. He wanted to go outside and get some fresh air. He turned to see some teachers monitoring the sleeping hunters-in-training. He resigned. They weren't allowed to go out. Not unless they wanted to go to the comfort room. His thoughts went to the initiation. He imagined a lot of scenarios in his head, each with different solutions to different problems. He formulated a strategy on how to use his newly acquired freeze grenades.

"This is it…" He quietly muttered as he closed his eyes to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **There was little information what loveless was about so i had to make my own version of the epic. Initiation time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Initiation Pt. 1**

* * *

Ozpin gazed at the window of his office as the sun rises. Hours from now the new students will undergo the initiation to prove themselves worthy of entering Beacon. He sighed as he took a sip from his coffee mug. These students must prove themselves lest they be slaughtered like lambs in the never ending war against the Darkness. Ozpin returned to his desk and reviewed the profiles of the initiates. A total of 104 initiates this year. Fairly higher than recent years even for Beacon. He kept going through each file, the stack to his left ever growing until he stumbles upon a particular profile. A picture of a young boy with white spiky hair and sky blue eyes donning a somewhat stiff expression. He smiled at the picture. A familiar face. Yes, he had the same sharp features as his old friend. He would go as far as to say that he was a clone, the only difference was that the boy was younger and his hair was white and his friend's hair was pale blonde.

"Jaune Arc…" He muttered the false name on the paper. He knew however that this transcript was forged. The details and evaluations were high enough to be accepted for initiation. Normally he would immediately put the falsified transcript into the shredder. But he saw potential in this boy. A potential to be a true huntsman, maybe even something more.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in."

The door opened to see Glynda Goodwitch entering with her scroll in hand.

"The preparations are ready, sir. The safety teams and the medics are already positioned throughout the forest, accompanying them are a few 3rd year and 2nd year students."

"Good. Make the announcement; I will be waiting at the cliffs"

Glynda nodded. She walked towards the door however she stopped midway and turned to Ozpin.

"If I may speak freely. I still do not understand why you let such a young girl enter our combat school. She has yet to complete her remaining two years at Signal academy. The fact that she still has 2 years of learning skipped would be detrimental to the girl. She may be skilled, but she is still far too inexperienced and lacking in education. So why, Ozpin, would you risk her life?"

Ozpin sighed. She does have a point. Glynda Goodwitch was a fresh addition 4 years ago in Beacon. A stern and disciplined young woman, She is the type of person to follow rules and regulations with unwavering dedication and enforce them with an iron fist. She was also quite the workaholic, She has done more for this school than some of the senior staff. So she was elected to be the vice-headmistress. A job which suited her very much.

"What are we Glynda?" Ozpin asked.

"Sir?" Glynda was confused by the question.

"We are teachers are we not?" Ozpin continued.

Glynda watched him as he uttered those words.

"The girl has potential Glynda."

Glynda sighed and massaged her temples.

"Ozpin, there is a system for this. A process…However, you have already made up your mind didn't you?" Glynda looked at Ozpin in the eyes.

His only response was to smile.

Glynda sighed once again and left the office, leaving Ozpin alone.

Ozpin sat there as the smile his face fades. He put aside Jaune's transcript and pulled out another with the picture of a certain red reaper on it.

"There is no time… the darkness is drawing ever closer…I must get her ready. I made a promise to Summer…" He quietly muttered to the empty room.

/0/

Jaune's morning was fairly uneventful. He just woke up like the rest of the students, passed some greetings and good mornings to his new friends, and quickly went to the public showers. After that he met with his new friends at the cafeteria.

"I'm telling ya the initiation is just gonna be us fighting some teachers!" Yang said while chewing a 2 pieces of bacon.

"What? I thought that we were supposed to fight grimm!"Ruby exclaimed as she nibbled on some cookies.

"What? Fighting teachers not up to par with killing Grimm?" He asked jokingly before he ate a spoon full of milk and cereal.

"Not really. I mean I don't have a problem with training or sparring with teachers but aren't we here to fight grimm?" Ruby answered seriously.

"She does have a point though." A fourth voice sounded beside them. The trio looked towards the direction of the voice only to see a gorgeous red haired girl in bronze armor holding a tray of her own breakfast.

"The Initiation will be a test through the emerald forest. An upperclassman told me about it."

"Oh! Hey Pyrrha!." Jaune smiled as he greeted the girl he met back at the weapons shop.

"Hello again." Pyrrha sweetly smiled at Jaune.

Jaune turned to Yang and Ruby and started to introduce them.

Yang raised an eyebrow at the red haired beauty in front of her. She was surprised someone like Jaune knew someone so beautiful. It's not every day that she meets someone who's on par with her own beauty. She noticed the way the redhead smiled at the white-haired swordsman. A smirk appeared on her face.

"Why Jaune! I didn't know you had a girlfriend! And here I thought I had a chance. Boohoo~" Yang teased while wiping an invisible tear. The two blushed at her joke. However what caught her by a surprise was her sister's reaction.

"G-girlfriend?!" A slightly flushed Ruby suddenly yelled as she looked at the two of them.

Pyrrha wanted to say something but Jaune beat her to it.

"Wha- she's not my girlfriend! We just met yesterday!"

Yang laughed at the two turn tomato-red including her sister which peaked her interest.

"Relax, I'm just messing with ya. Nice to meet you Pyrrha." Yang gave the girl and honest smile while Ruby glared at her sister for her antics.

"Nice to meet you! I'm sorry about my sister though. She likes to tease people." Ruby said.

"L-likewise. It's alright though."

Jaune cleared his throat as the blush from Yang's teasing subsided.

"Why don't you join us Pyrrha?" Jaune asked

"That would be grand!" Pyrrha answered.

Pyrrha sat down beside Jaune and in front of Yang and the 4 chatted about random things.

"By the way Pyrrha, have we met before?" Yang asked randomly.

"I don't think so?" She replied.

"Yeah, you do look familiar." Ruby said as she squinted at Pyrrha.

A worried look appeared on Pyrrha's face.

'Oh no…' she said under her breath.

Jaune looked at her confused as her face started to change to that of a worried person's

"Pyr-" Jaune tried to ask what was wrong until Ruby yelled.

"Oh! That's right! You're Pyrrha Nikos!" Ruby suddenly yelled and stood as she recalled the girl from her memory.

"You won the championship of the sanctum tournament four times in a row!" Ruby was giddy. Who wouldn't be? She was looking at one of the most talented huntress-in-training in the world. She saw her matches on TV, she even recalled that time when she fought a professional huntsman and won!

"Woah Ruby! Calm down!" Yang grabbed her sister and pulled her down to her seat. Prompting Ruby to quickly cover her mouth with both hands and regretting her sudden outburst.

It was at that moment that Jaune heard whispering all around. Varying from disbelief to amazement.

/0/

A frown formed in Pyrrha's face as she looked down. People were now pulling out their scrolls and taking pictures at the champion. She wanted to leave but she didn't want to cause a scene, she after all, had quite a reputation. The life of fame wasn't what Pyrrha wanted. All her life she didn't expect to become the prestigious school of Sanctum's Champion. When she was at Sanctum, she never really cared about all this fame and glory. She just wanted to get better. And to be better she needed to win all her battles. And she did just that. She won't lie that she doesn't have a competitive spirit, she always had strived to win. Her time at sanctum garnered much attention due to sanctum being one of the best Hunter Preparatory School, just second to Atlas' preparatory school. The next thing she knew, she was surrounded by people wanting to meet her. With her influence and beauty, suitors lined up and paparazzi followed her everywhere not to mention the fanatics and stalkers. It also caught the attention of aristocrats and politics. It was exhausting. She wanted to leave, she wanted to leave it all behind while still pursuing her dream to become a huntress. The final straw was when her very own parents tried to have her wed an old fat influential aristocrat. Her parents were never like that, before they were caring parents who thought of what was best for her. But ever since her rise to stardom, they slowly but surely changed. So she opted to move to Vale and attend Beacon with her own money, without their permission. Still even here, people knew her. Almost all her official fights were broadcasted live on TV after all. They gawked at her, looking at her like some zoo animal. Ever since the airship, she had avoided people, sticking to the background. She almost lost hope when she arrived, thinking that this would be Mistral all over again… That is until she saw a rather oblivious, kind and honest-to-heart boy. She piqued her interest when she saw him help a random stranger on the ground while other people just avoided them and despite being obviously nervous about something he still had that bright goofy smile of his. It somewhat captivated her. She followed him around school meeting various strangers. He was kind, polite, humble, and honest. When they bumped into each other, it was there she knew that he didn't know who she was, she chuckled back then in her mind as she remembered the confused face on him when that smith froze as she saw her. But now… Now he knew her. She couldn't even look at Jaune's face.

She prepared to leave however she didn't notice Yang suddenly moving beside grabbing her arm and dragged her out with Ruby, Jaune followed behind. The people gave way as Yang glared at the people with her red eyes, what intimidated people more however was her hair suddenly emanating a fiery aura. The four of them stopped as soon as they found a quiet place.

Yang took a deep breath as her hair and eyes returned to normal. She then looked at Ruby.

"I think someone needs to apologize." Yang looked at her sister. Ruby looked down with tearing eyes. It hurts to see her like this but it was her job to look out for her whenever she does some horrible mistake. She wasn't going to just blindly allow what just happened. She knew all too well how Pyrrha felt albeit only a fraction of it. The girl was an international star after all.

"Y-youre right…I-I'm sorry Pyrrha…" Tears ran down through Ruby's face. The poor girl was just a child after all. She didn't know Pyrrha's circumstances. And Pyrrha understood this.

Pyrrha heard about the girl who advanced two years and entered Beacon. It was quite the talk back at the airship. She smiled at the girl and rubbed her head as she embraced her.

"It's alright… You didn't know." She gently said as she stroked the girl's hair.

Ruby sniffled and calmed down with her. She then felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Jaune with a gentle smile. She let go of Ruby as she calmed down and turned to Jaune.

"So… I guess… now you know…" She said with saddened eyes.

"Know what? The tournament stuff? So what. I mean Hunters pretty much participate on tournaments a lot right? So what if you won 4 times in a row? You're still Pyrrha Nikos the huntress-in-training aren't you?" Jaune nonchalantly said with a gentle smile.

Pyrrha's eyes widened at Jaune's words.

He scratched the back of his head and continued.

"I'm not really that much of a… tournament person. I… watched Saturday morning cartoons instead. Hahaha. Or well… Cartoons in general. Oh! But I was nature documentaries! Sometimes! haha…" He awkwardly laughed as he blushed.

She looked at him with disbelief and relief.

"What was that about? If you don't mind me asking." Jaune asked worryingly.

"Seriously? You didn't notice the gaze of everyone around us back there? They we're looking at her like some zoo animal. You know how it is with actors or movie stars." Yang reacted.

"Oh" He almost slapped himself for being a dunce.

"I just thought that they were looking at you three." He replied.

"Why was that?" Ruby asked.

"Well let's all be honest here. You three stand out." He said with a slight blush.

"Care to elaborate?" Yang pleaded.

Pyrrha just looked at him curiously. He looked at the three of them as his blush grows redder. He sighed as he gave up. There was no point hiding it.

"You girls… well you three specifically…uhh… look…really…pretty…" He said, however his voice became inaudible on the last part.

"What was that?" Ruby drew closer trying to heat his words.

"You girls..are…mmnmm" He tried to say it, he really did, but the last part just came out as a mumble.

"Speak up man!" Yang yelled.

"I said you girls look absolutely stunning! Pyrrha's Gorgeous! Ruby's too Cute! And You're really beautiful too, and for some odd reason you three are hanging out with me! And here I am wondering what I did to receive such a reward! I must've done something good in my previous life! Could it be?! Has my love life finally come around?! After so many rejections?! So many embarrassing moments?! Misunderstandings?! Did the gods finally take pity on me?!" He finally said, or practically yelled dramatically while doing some weird pose. Leaving the three of them speechless, confused and red.

The embarrassed boy shrunk back and curled into a ball as he hid his extremely red face with both his hands while muttering an audible 'I'm an idiot!' after realized what he said in his outburst.

There was a long pause between all of them. Ruby was still processing what the swordsman had just said and Yang… well Yang could'nt find words. She was used to cheap pick up lines and cheesy and empty promises and praises. Full frontal honesty was something rare to her.

"pffft…."

The silence was broken when Pyrrha broke into a hearty laugh. The two sisters followed suit.

"Oh Jaune, That was! That was too much! Hahaha!" Pyrrha said in the middle of laughing.

"Seriously? Pffft..'After so many rejections'? hahaha! You must be quite the lady killer back in your old school." Yang quoted while she laughed.

Jaune looked at the three of them laughing. He smiled as he saw the heavy atmosphere from before vanished due to his embarrassing confession/outburst. He regretted many ebarassing moments back then, however he didn't regret it now since it brought smiles to his new friends. It was worth it.

Ruby laughed and smiled as she approached him holding out a hand to him.

"Need any help there Vomit boy?" Ruby smiled at him.

"Thanks." He took her hand and she hoisted him up.

Pyrrha approached him and gave him a hug which made him squeak and tense up.

"Thank you Jaune…" She said while she embraced him.

"Anytime Pyr." He patted her back.

"Awww soo cuute!" Yang cooed.

Pyrrha let go and gently punched Yang's arm.

"Stop ruining the mood." She said amusedly and the two of them laughed. Jaune and Ruby looked at them with a warm look on their faces.

Jaune then turned to Ruby.

"That still doesn't warrant you to use that nickname though." He pouted. It was just one time!

"Wha- I thought it sounded pretty good during that tender moment!" Ruby reacted.

"Even so! Hmm. This requires a punishment." Jaune smirked atRuby prompting her to back away with a defensive stance with her arms.

"Hear ye! Hear ye!" Jaune said, loud enough for the other two to hear.

"The lord of this country has deemed the girl 'Ruby Rose' to be officially nicknamed as "Crater Face! For the crime of also officially nicknaming Lord Jaune "Vomit Boy"!" Jaune joked as he imitated a rather aristocratic accent.

"Wha- this is a farce! Also that was only one time! I demand a lawyer and we shall take this to…uhh…to court! Yeah! To court!" Ruby went along with the joke.

The 4 friends giggled at their antics however the four was interrupted as the announcement system blared.

"All new comers gather at Beacon cliffs for the initiation at T minus 30 minutes. I repeat-"

The four friends looked at one another.

"I guess this is it." Jaune said in a serious tone.

"Yeah." Ruby agreed.

"Can't be that hard right? I mean we're just going into a grimm infested forest." Yang mused.

"I'm sure everything will be fine." Pyrrha reassured them.

"Right. Let's go get our gear." Jaune said. The other three nodded in agreement and they left for the locker area. Content with their new found bonds.

/0/

Weiss was putting on her combat equipment which roughly only consisted of her jacket, combat skirt, Combat heels, and her precious sword, Myrtenaster. She looked at the mirror that was mounted on her locker and fixed herself to give off a proper and dignified impression on the evaluators. Despite being a huntress in training, she still needed to uphold the Schnee name. Just as she was fixing her tiara she noticed a familiar red-headed champion approaching her. Well more specifically her locker which was right beside hers. She knew who Pyrrha Nikos was and her renowned skill and graceful appearance was nothing to be scoffed at. They had met several times at social gatherings which involved a lot of VIPs. That connection would surely be enough to persuade Pyrrha to join her team. Yes, she planned to be partnered up with the champion herself. Together with her, the smartest girl in their class and Pyrrha the strongest, they would be the best team in beacon.

"Oh, hello Pyrrha!" Wiess politely greeted.

"Hello, Weiss." The champion greeted back.

"I've been meaning to ask, Have you put any thought to who's team you would like to be in? I'm sure everyone would be eager to ally with such a strong woman such as yourself. "

"Oh well, I plan to be on Jaune's team."

"Well I was just thinking that we shoul- what?" Weiss couldn't believe it. How?! Why?!

"I plan to be on Jaune's team." She said with a reassuring smile. Weiss could almost hear her plan break into pieces.

"I-I don't understand." She tried to make sense of it. Jaune Arc? You mean the same person who vomited on the air ship? Sure he was mature enough. He was also polite and quite the literate person. However he was just too average! He doesn't even look like he knows how to fight! When she first saw him, she immediately noticed his white hair and sky blue eyes. A common and dominant trait of the Schnee bloodline. However his actions and mannerisms spoke otherwise. He seemed to just be some country bumpkin. She had actually wanted to know about his family, thinking that they may be related to the Schnee. Then again there are a lot of people with white hair and blue eyes. She needed to look more into this.

"Weiss, you may view Jaune as someone to look down to. Someone so average and what you think is unworthy. But to me, I see his potential. And he is also a good friend." Pyrrha told her as she equipped all her equipment.

"Wha- I didn't mean it like tha-"

"I will see you at the cliffs Weiss, good luck. I hope you find a good team."

"Wha- wait!" She tried to call the champion, but she was already gone. Soon she was the only one left in the locker room. Frozen.

"What in the gods just happened?!" She yelled.

/0/

Jaune was prepared for anything, he had several dozen plans regarding the initiation. He had studied grimm and huntsman from the various books he could find at Vale's national library. He had the skill of a 10 year old with a stick but it doesn't take a 10 year old to know how to swing or thrust a sword. He procured a ranged weapon, though thrown, but a ranged no less. He could say he was prepared for this initiation. However he did not prepare for _**this**_ _._ They were all at the cliffs, standing on a metallic pedestal facing the Emerald Forest. From his right he could see Ruby, Yang and Pyrrha right next to him. To his left he could see Ren and Nora far away from him.

"For years you have trained to become warriors and today your abilities will be evaluated in the emerald forest."

The headmaster said as he faced the students.

"Now, I'm sure some of you heard rumors heard about the assignment of teams. Well allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given team mates today." Glynda added.

"These team mates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone who you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next 4 years here at Beacon." Ozpin continued.

"What?! That doesn't make any sense!" Jaune suddenly commented.

Ozpin raised an eye brow at the white-haired swordsman. Glynda approached the Jaune with a stern look.

"If you wish to be paired with your desired partner, then you should do your best to seek them out on your own, Mr. Arc. Now please, let the headmaster continue."

Jaune winced at the cold glare that the Vice-Headmistress gave him.

Ozpin nodded at Glynda.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition on the way. So do not hesitate to destroy anything in your path. Or you will die."

The last part caused some of the students including Jaune to give a reaction.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of the initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple in your path containing several relics. Each pair will choose one and return to the top of the cliff. And you will guard that item as well as your standing and we will grade you appropriately. Are there any questions? Good. Now take your stances."

Everybody complied except Jaune.

"Umm… Sir, Are you gonna launch us off-" Jaune's question was cut off when students started to get launched from their pedestals.

"I guess that's a yes. Another question, sir. Did you hand out parachutes before the initiation?"

"No. You will use your own landing strategy." Ozpin said with a calm tone as more and more students get launched high up in the air.

He looked beside him to see that the number of students on the pedestals were running out.

He gulped as he looked beyond the cliff. Ruby comforted him by rubbing his back.

"Don't worry Jaune."

"Yeah! I'm sure you can handle this Vomit Boy." Yang said as she put on her aviators which looked pretty good on her.

"Have faith Jaune." Pyrrha added as she prepares to be launched as the students beside her was now in the air.

"Good luck." She said as she was launched high up in the air.

"Thanks". He muttered.

The last two girls beside him were finally launched, him being next.

Silently he prayed to the gods for protection.

3….

2…

1…

He let out a cry when we was launched in the air. He was going to die. He was finally gonna pay for running away from home and forging his transcripts. He was going to die horribly and school hasn't even started yet. He could imagine it now _'Here lies the fraud, Jaune Strife, died during the first part of the initiation'_.

The ground was getting closer now, he put his arms in front of him as he was practically diving towards the ground and braced himself for impact. However he was suddenly yanked sideward as something bronze hit one of his belts and snagged him towards a tree effectively saving him from falling to his death as the object pinned the belt on his armor's shoulder guards and into the tree. It was enough to stop him from falling to the ground. He looked at the object closer. It looked like a bronze and red spear.

Jaune pulled the spear out of the tree causing him to lightly fall to the ground. He laid down and caught his breath as relief came to him. That was a really close call. He's have to thank the person who threw the spear.

He heard the sounds of gunshots echo from the forest around him. It seems the fighting has begun.

He unsheathed his sword just to be ready. With the spear on his right hand and the sword on his left he looked around. He heard a rustle from a nearby bush prompting him to suddenly turn and ready the weapons in both his hands. However a sigh of relief came when a certain bronze armor red haired girl came out with a smile.

"Hello again."

"Pyrrha? Were you the one who threw this?" He asked holding the bronze spear.

"Yes. I figured you needed the hel- Jaune you're bleeding!" Pyrrha exclaimed as she saw his face.

"I am?" Jaune sheathed his sword and proceeded to check himself. There wasn't any punctures save from a couple t scratches on his coat and very few dents on his armor. However he soon saw what Pyrrha meant when a drop of blood fell from his head. He touched his forehead and looked at the hand and saw that his palm was covered in blood.

"Oh dear…" He commented. Aura could have protected him, even heal him right now. The adrenaline he felt during the descent must've numbed the pain and now that he realized how badly cut he was, he shivered from the pain slowly coming to him. Pyrrha put her hand on his cheek and inspected him.

"You don't have aura don't you?" Pyrrha ask with a worried tone.

"I… couldn't afford it. I didn't have enough money to pay an aura specialist to unlock mine…" Jaune looked down.

Pyrrha gave him a gentle smile.

"I can help with that. I've had training as an aura specialist to help me control my semblance."

"You can? W-wait, I've heard that it takes a lot of energy to unlock another person's aura. Pyrrha we're on our initiation. It would be dangerous if you run out of stamina when we're fighting grimm!" Jaune tried to decline with a logical reason.

"I can handle it. Besides, the life of a person is more precious than my energy. Especially when it's my partner. I'm not the four-time Champion of Sactum for nothing you know?"

Jaune blushed as he heard those reassuring words. A part of him wanted to decline. Another part of him was thankful that his partner for the next four years was gonna be her. However it depressed him more that he realized that it had just begun and he was already a hindrance to her.

"I'm sorry… I'll… accept your offer." Jaune looked at her in the eyes.

"Alright, then let us begin. Close your eyes." She put her hands on Jaune's cheeks. And began to recite a ceremonial speech.

" _For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."_

Jaune winced as he felt something inside him. Like a bottle ready to explode due to being shaken too much. He couldn't really describe it properly. Somewhat of a mixture of dread and relief. Dread? Yes. He felt scared for a moment, after that a burst of relief, peace, and tranquility.

Pyrrha was taken aback when a sudden bluish light suddenly engulfing the forest.

Jaune opened his eyes to see Pyrrha kneeling on the ground gasping for air.

"Pyrrha!" he exclaimed as he got closer to her.

"I'm fine Jaune. It's just… you have an amazing amount of aura. How do you feel?" Pyrrha smiled at him.

"I feel… good." He checked the wound on his forehead and realized that the wound has already healed, all the aches in his body and also all the bruises.

"That's good to hear. But first, can you let me rest?" Pyrrha said as she rested her back on a nearby tree.

"Sure thing. Thanks for everything Pyrrha."

"It's a little bit too early to be thanking me. Come let us talk." Pyrrha tapped the ground beside where she was sitting.

Jaune just smiled and sat beside his partner.

/0/

Weiss was angry, first her plans were ruined now she has to deal with this clumsy child whilst being chased around by a pack of beowolves with their alpha in tow. She scoffed at the idea of this ever working out as they were running north as the headmaster instructed. Like it or not Ruby Rose is now her partner. She let out a frustrated sigh. Just hours ago she almost set the forest on fire with her dust infused Myrtenaster just because the redhead interrupted her when said redhead strated attacking everything randomly. While Ruby did manage a few kills, more and more joined since she kept attacking the Alpha which by the way had tougher bone plating evident that the girl's sniper scythe could only chip it. It looked like she was very inexperienced with fighting Grimm of these caliber, evident on her fancy swings that did little damage to the alpha, and more used to attacking lesser grimm. She was showing off. Weiss was forced to retreat with the girl as the fires started to surround them as well as the grimm. They were followed relentlessly by the Alpha and its pack throughout the forest but luckily they had managed to get away.

"What was that?! We could've had them!" Ruby angrily said to the heiress.

"Had it? We were surrounded! I don't know how you got into Beacon but what you did back there is reckless and dangerous!" Weiss replied.

"How?! You just needed to cover me while I take down the big one!"

"This isn't like your training missions back at your old school. This is a life and death battle! There will be no teachers to help us here! It's just us! Not only did you attack the Alpha beowolf, you also attracted more of them! And to top it all off, you never said anything about a plan!"

"It was implied! I take out the big one while you take out the smaller ones! Plus if you weren't so conscious of your poses during the fight, we would've killed them all while there were still a few of them. And let's not forget who it was who left me alone and got herself surrounded in the first place!"

"They aren't poses! They were combat forms! Unlike your garden tool of a weapon, mine requires me to aim precisely at the right places to deliver killing blows. Not just swinging it around wildly at something you can't even cut through!"

Ruby glared at her as she did the same.

"I'm surprised that someone who talks so much would communicate little during an encounter!" Weiss has almost had it with this girl, she was tempted to leave this child alone and find the temple on her own.

"Well I'm sorry for needing my help to win a fight! I'm just fine on my own!" Ruby angrily said.

"This isn't about winning. This is about surviving and accomplishing the task at hand. I don't care if I have to work with a child who somehow got enrolled into Beacon as long as I accomplish the task at hand." Weiss coldly replied as she turned around to continue her path north to find the temple. Yes, it was what her sister, Winter, drilled onto her when she was still in training back at Atlas.

Ruby was red with anger, how dare she call her a child?! In her anger she cut down a nearby tree to vent out her frustration. After that she followed the heiress. She was her partner now after all.

/0/

"You mentioned that you studied aura specialization. Why do you need it to use your semblance?"

"Do you know what Aura is?" Pyrrha asked as they trekked through the forest.

"Aura is the physical manifestation of our soul. It's the shield that protects us from harm and enhances our physical capabilities." He answered.

Jaune and Pyrrha now trekked the forest after they had rested. There were a few opposition in the way but Pyrrha dispatched them with relative ease.

"Yes. Unlike most semblances, mine is… exceptionally powerful."

"Powerful? Powerful how?" He asked.

"Well, did you know that there are two types of semblances? One purely just enhances one of your abilities like strength or speed. Not to be confused with the passive traits of already unlocking your aura. While the other gives you magic-like abilities like control over an individual element." She explained.

She then looked at Jaune with a serious expression.

"Mine is polarity. I can control any metal within a 10 meter radius."

"So, you're basically a magnet?"

Pyrrha giggled at the boy's description of her semblance.

"Yeah, like a magnet. These types of semblances however come with a price. And that price is aura. One needed to master the manipulation of one's aura to use these semblances properly. Do you understand now Jaune? When I first unlocked mine, I would regularly faint because of my aura randomly activating. Not to mention that it was very dangerous for me to ever get close to sharp metal objects. You could say that it was a very problematic childhood."

Pyrrha let out a somber laugh as she reminisced in the past.

"I… See. Does it require a large amount of aura to use?" Jaune asked with a worried look.

"The amount of aura required varies from how heavy the object I lift is." Pyrrha answered with a shrug. However she tensed up when she sensed something. She pulled out her sword and shield and got to her combat stance.

Jaune noticed her expression and did the same. He expected it to be more creeps and lesser beowolves but something kept telling them that it was something far worse. He readied his sword in front of him, his chest leaned forward and put his left leg in front and his other leg in the back, ready to charge or retreat. He had seen his dad do the same when he watched him train one of his sisters.

There was a rustle in the bushes where they were facing, a growl came next. It did not sound like any beowolf he had ever heard. It sounded more… menacing. The rustling was then circling them. They felt themselves being watched. The rustling stopped but they could still feel the gaze. The gaze of a hunter eyeing its prey.

The sound of rustling came back from the bushes. The both of them stood still waiting for the unseen creature to reveal itself in the open. Pyrrha moved in front of Jaune as she readied her shield. Jaune moved behind her checking the surroundings. Pyrrha tensed up, ready to attack.

Then something came out. They expected it to be something large as they looked down, it ws nothing more than a honey badger growling at them.

Jaune let out a sigh of relief and a small laugh. However Pyrrha was still tense. Something's not right. The honey badger then ran away scared of something. She felt it.

Bloodlust.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out to Jaune.

In that instant, a large bipedal creature swiped its giant claws at him. Luckily reflex caused him to block it with his sword. Unluckily he was still blown away by the sheer force of the blow.

"Argh!" Jaune yelped as he crashed down on his back.

The creature then tried to use the back of its arms to hit Pyrrha however it missed as she jumped back to dodge it.

Jaune quickly stood up as adrenaline pumped through him. He looked at the direction from where that hit came from.

The creature was now in broad day light. It looked like a bipedal short-snouted reptile that had ram horns growing on its skull plated head. It was huge, roughly around 15 feet tall. Its teeth was on the outside and its claws were the size of large daggers. The bony plates on its back sported arched spikes that seemed to decrease as it ran down from its upper back down to the tip of the tail. The creature stood up on its hind legs as it roared.

"Deathclaw!" Pyrrha shouted as she ran towards Jaune and grabbed him, pulling him away from the deadly grimm.

The Grimm let out a bone-chilling roar as it gave chase to the two.

They had managed to outrun it thanks to the thick trees and large size slowing it down and making it harder to navigate. However, it was relentless. They tried to purposefully run into narrow trees to somehow stop it from its tracks but the monster didn't relent, it just forced itself into the trees, ripping the trees down with its huge powerful claws.

Pyrrha knew that she could not beat this monster alone. The Deathclaws were one of the worst type of Grimm out there. It takes an entire team of veteran hunters to take down just one of these beasts but not without casualties. Its speed could rival a cheetah's and its large claws tear through metal like they were just made of tin. They were extremely rare though. Most even consider them to be just legend. These weren't even supposed to be on Vale. Deathclaws are recorded to only appear in desert like places like Vacuo and the northen parts of Menagerie. Why this monstrous creature was here was a mystery.

The two of them were beginning to slow down as fatigue slowly crept into their bodies. This was bad. Then he saw tightly knit large trees, small enough to block the creature but large enough to let them through one after another. He prompted Pyrrha to follow him into the trees.

It worked. The Deathclaw was now stuck and clawing its way through the trees as they just kept running. They were however abruptly stopped when they encountered a huge ravine. Jaune almost fell in luckily Pyrrha used her semblance to pull Jaune back. The two of them looked back to see the monster ripping the trees in its way. Jaune thought that this was strange. It almost looked as if the monster was not used to this sort of environment. A plan then came to Jaune's head. He looked around to make sure if his plan would work. He looked at the ground. The ground was covered in moss. Good.

Pyrrha wanted to get out of there as fast as she could however Jaune grabbed her arm.

"I've got a plan."

Pyrrha looked into his eyes. There was no hesitation in them. No fear. She nodded at him.

"We need to clear a path towards the ravine. Anything that could get snagged or grabbed on to!" Jaune ordered. She then realized what his plan was.

Pyrrha complied as she moved away all of the fallen tree stumps. She looked back to the creature and saw that it was now getting closer. She then looked to Jaune who was not finishing up his side. He then prompted her to stand over the cliff with him. He sheathed his sword and pulled out his non-lethal freeze grenades, holding at least three in each hand. Pyrrha sheathed her shield and her spear was now in its short sword form.

The two of them were now staring at the Grimm running towards them breaking from the wooden barrier that was holding it, leaving a trail of fallen trees.

Moment of truth, the Creature held back its arm ready to slash the two hunters-in-training while running wildly at them. As soon as the creature was close enough, Jaune threw all of the grenades in his hands towards the feet of the Grimm managing to Freeze its foot but not enough to stop it. However Juane knew this. The moss prevented the ice to latch onto the ground, instead it made it even more slippery which caused the large creature to loose balance mid running. The both of them jumped on each sides as the creature slipped by them. However as the creature was about to fall, It dug its claws in the cliff of the ravine while its other hand dug into the cliffside.

"Aim for the fingers!" Jaune quickly ordered.

Pyrrha then started to slash on the thin bony fingers that latched onto the ground. However with a mighty pull, the creature lept up from the cliff and landed 3 feet away from it.

Jaune's plan failed. They were going to die. Pyrrha looked at Jaune to see him charging at the beast as it turned towards her.

"Jaune! No!" Pyrrha screamed as tears began forming in her eyes.

Jaune used his shoulders to bash the Grimm off the cliff with his adrenaline fuled strength. The Deathclaw was caught by a surprise as it was suddenly pushed towards the cliff again. Pyrrha ran towards the cliff to see the swordsman and the Grimm fell into the ravine. She reached out her hand try try to use her semblance to pull him up. However he was a meter too far from the range of her semblance. But then, as if some cruel joke, the Grimm swiped it's large claws at Jaune in an attempt to make one final kill before its inevitable demise causing the young swordsman to get blown upwads due to the sheer force of it. This was her chance. She reached out as far as she could and caught Jaune with her semblance, slowly, she pulled him up. She could feel her aura drain as Jaune was pulled close and closer until he was laid down at the cliff. Pyrrha weakly checked on him. He was badly injured but breathing it also seems that his aura was now doing its job as smaller wounds started to heal. She let out a smile as she fainted right beside the unconscious swordsman with her hand on his.

 _ **~To Be Continued~**_

* * *

 _ **A/N: This won't necissarily be an Arkos fic, I just wanted to flesh out why Pyrrha fell in love with Jaune. Not just that 'Because he treats her like everybody else' or 'He doesn't know her'. I just thought it needed more citation. But who knows? maybe this will be an arkos ship, anything is possible right? Let's just see how the story goes.**_

 _ **Also, leave some reviews will ya? I'd really appreciate it since this is my first fic and all. Also feel free to point out some mistakes. I still don't have Beta readers too. Maybe if you guys want, You could share your ideas on future chapters?**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N ugh...sorry for the delay.** _

* * *

**Chapter 4: Initiation Part 2**

* * *

The moment the deathclaw leapt back up the cliff was the moment Jaune knew that his plan had fell to pieces. Granted it was a fairly idiotic plan altogether. He had to act. The deathclaw was still near the cliff so all he could think of was just to use brute force to push the Grimm off. He knew of Pyrrha's semblance and from what he'd experienced earlier, she could catch him with her semblance. All he could do as he pushes the grimm along with himself, was to trust his partner. He closed his eyes as he fell with the grimm. Hoping his partner would catch on to his new plan. Then there was a sudden sharp pain in his torso as if someone just whipped him with a huge chain whip.

Which is why he wondered where he was when he opened his eyes there was darkness all around him. There was no sound. Only a sense of emptiness.

He began to walk around, trying to at least find something or someone. As he kept walking he saw a faint bluish-green light in a distance. He ran towards it hoping it shed some light on where he was. However it was nothing more than a floating blue-green orb.

It didn't give him anything as to where he was, it only raised more questions. All he could do right now was to inspect it. It seemed to give of somewhat of an unnerving aura. He couldn't explain it. Just by being near it, he could feel himself becoming saddened. He didn't know why. He just felt really, really sad and in pain. It was as if he had lost something in his life. But he really hadn't, he had everything from a loving family and some good friends. He wondered why he was feeling this sorrow.

When he tried to touch it he was suddenly blinded by a sudden bright light. He opened his eyes.

"What the hell?..."

He was now standing in an old laboratory, books and utensils were scattered everywhere as if someone ransacked the whole place. Gloomy didn't give justice as to how the room felt. He began to look around and began to search. It was as if something was compelling him to look for something. He didn't know what.

A dozen stacked books and piled laboratory equipment later he found the thing he was compelled to look for. A journal. He inspected it closer and saw the initials 'G. Faremis'. Jaune felt dread as he held the journal in his hands. As if something was boiling inside of him. A part of him didn't want to open it and just leave the place. But another part of him strongly wanted to open it and read its contents.

He gave in and read the contents. He began to flip through the pages furiously until he came to a sudden stop.

"Jenova…Project?"

He suddenly felt a sudden pain in his chest. He dropped the journal and was now clutching his chest and kneeling to the ground as the pain seared. He teared up from the pain and the sudden outburst of sorrow, hate and anger.

"Argh! Make it stop! Make it stop!"

He fell to the floor rolling in pain. There were brief flashes of images in his head as the pain was ever growing in his chest and was now running to his head.

/0/

Glynda watched the scene unfold from beginning to end. Her eyes widened at the sight of a deathclaw here at Vale. These type of Grimm are not even native to Vale. Students are not equipped with the knowledge and skill to take down a Grimm of such caliber. All she could do right now was at least ask the headmaster to postpone the initiation.

"Oz-!"

"The initiation will proceed as is." Ozpin immediately shot her down.

"But Ozpin that was a deathclaw! The children are not equipped to fight those creatures. Mr. Arc and Ms. Nikos barely managed to escape. Yes, they had managed to push it off a cliff but it was done by almost sacrificing Mr. Arc's life. If his partner wasn't Ms. Nikos then things would've gone horribly worse. And there could be more of these Deathclaws in the area."

Ozpin pondered for a moment. The deathclaw. A rather unpleasant grimm. One of the main reasons why the faunus on Menagerie couldn't expand to the deserts in the island and why the deeper northern parts of Vacuo was dubbed the 'Wasteland' or the 'Dead Zone'. Ozpin also wondered how such a terrible creature managed to find itself in Vale. Near Beacon no less. Ozpin watched when the creature tore through the trees trying to catch the fleeing hunters in training. It was a good call for them to retreat. They couldn't fight such a beast. Had they fought, they would've been eviscerated in mere seconds. Ozpin noticed that the creature was somehow struggling to navigate the thick trees in the forest. An alpha beowolf would've just gone around, used the trees and flanked the kids.

This deathclaw was brought here.

' _This is troubling…'_

Still, he was impressed at the young man's actions. He knew how to utilize his parter's semblance and knew how to immediately switch to another plan when the first one failed. Even though it just seemed to be a roll of the dice when he executed it. Still. It was impressive for a person who's never faced a grimm or have had proper training.

"Should we at least send in a recovery team for Mr. Arc and Ms. Nikos?" Glynda suggested.

"No need… Look." Ozpin then prompted her to look at the surveillance footage.

She could see two people approaching the unconscious duo. She looked at Ozpin looking like she wanted to say something. These were just new comers after all. All the training they had were just from preparatory combat schools. The grimm they usually face in those schools were usually new bloods. However Ozpin's decision was final. The initiation continues.

She sighed and just accepted his decision. All she could do now was hope that the initiation will end without casualties.

/0/

"Do you think that that was some huge monstrous grimm sloths?! It's gotta be right?! I mean look at these claw marks! Sloths have huge claws! And they have this roar too!" Nora energetically said recalling a loud and ferocious roar from a while ago.

"Nora, I don't think sloths roar. But you're right though. These claw marks are huge. This grimm literally ripped through the forest." Ren said as he looked around the path of fallen and mangled trees. Ren wanted to avoid the area. Whatever grimm did this was powerful and huge. However the scream from earlier signaled that someone needed help. It just so happens that they were nearby.

It was their job as huntsmen to help whoever those in need.

"You think theyre alright?...Those screams from earlier." Nora said in a worried tone.

Ren looked at her with a small smile and patted her head gently. It pained him whenever Nora gives him a sorrowful and pained look. The both of them had survived together. Ever since the tragedy of Kuroyuri, where he lost everything he cared about. The both of them still have nightmares to this day. They found comfort in each other since then, each of them a solace from the painful memories of each other's past.

"I don't know. But we're going to help them if we can."

Nora's bright smile came back and it lifted his spirits.

"Come on then! Let's go!" Nora said as she grabbed his hand and dragged him as they followed the trail of carnage.

Ren always had trouble keeping up with her, however it was much better to see a smiling and energetic Nora than what she was before.

"I see something ahead!" Nora yelled as she pointed towards two figures.

Ren looked towards where Nora was pointing to. He saw two unconscious people. One of which he recognized.

"It's Jaune!"

The boy that they had met at beacon. They never had a proper conversation aside from a quick chat. However he knew him.

The both of them arrived at the two unconscious hunters-in-training and began to check on the both of them.

He checked Jaune first as it looked like he was the most injured one out of the two judging from the large claw mark on his breastplate. He checked to see if there were any fatal wounds on the boy, thankfully his aura had already healed much of the damage. The thing that worried him however was that the boy was sweating and shivering. He tussled sometimes, as if he was having a nightmare. All in all, he was physically fine. He checked to see the dilation of his pupils to see if he was poisoned by a venomous grimm.

"Gah!" The boy suddenly jolted up as Ren opened his eye with his finger causing their foreheads colliding with each other. It was very painful.

"Ren!" Nora yelled.

"I'm fine Nora… ugh…" Ren stumbled back rubbing his forehead.

"Ow… Sorry. What... what happe- Pyrrha!"

Jaune quickly went to Pyrrha's side when he recalled what just happened.

She was unconscious.

"She's alright. She just used too much of her aura." Nora assured Jaune as she put a hand on his shoulder.

He smiled at her answer.

"I knew she could do it." He muttered.

Ren then joined the three.

"What exactly happened here?"

"We were chased by what Pyrrha called, a Deathclaw." Jaune answered.

"Deathclaw? What the heck is a Deathclaw? You mean it wasn't some Grimm Sloth?" Nora asked.

"Deathclaws are some of the most powerful grimm that hunters ever faced. They're only native to Vacuo and Menagerie." Ren doubted that the two of them saw a deathclaw. He wanted to think that this was just an Ursa Major. However the evidence of such a creature was literally littered all around them.

"You say you encountered a Deathclaw. Where is it now?" Ren asked.

Jaune just shook his head towards the deep ravine just behind them. Ren inspected the area and saw skid marks towards the cliff. It didn't take a genius to figure out what just happened.

"You said it's only native to Vacuo and Menagerie… what's it doing in Vale?" Jaune looked towards him.

Ren gave off a sigh and a shrug. What did Jaune expect from him? He only knew of the grimm through books and rumors during their travels.

Jaune nodded acknowledging that he couldn't exactly give an answer.

"So it's dead? Did you guys manage to kill it?" Nora asked while she knelt down and peeked at the bottom of the ravine.

"I think so… I think it's best that we just finish this initiation." Jaune replied.

Ren nodded.

"Come on Nora!" Ren signaled the girl to follow.

Ren turned to Jaune.

"I've already found the Temple using the trees. It's at least a kilometer north from here."

Jaune nodded and hoisted up Pyrrha and carried her bridal style while Nora went to collect her shield and sword. Jaune gave his thanks towards Ren and Nora for their help as they continued the initiation. Ren noticed that something was still bothering Jaune however he decided not to bring it up.

Hopefully they won't meet anymore Deathclaws in the area.

/0/

Blake and Yang arrived at the temple gasping heavily for air. The temple looked really old, most of the structure were already crumbling and overtaken by moss and vines. Behind the temple was a large ravine. There seemed to be stairs leading down to the bottom of the ravine however it seemed to have crumbled as well. The architecture looked western Mistralian rather than Valeian. Blake couldn't lie that she wasn't the least bit interested in the history of this place.

"Look… It just… looked like a relic to me okay?" Yang in between gasps.

"Oh. So me telling you about the warnings and the cave paintings wasn't enough? "Blake said in a rather sarcastic voice.

Yang just shrugged and smiled at her. They had just been chased by a Death Stalker of all things because of a certain blonde haired brawler insisted that the relic was in that cave. It wasn't. They tried fighting it however their attacks couldn't properly penetrate the tough shell of that thing. That and they were running out of ammo.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore. Look."

Blake pointed to a row of small columns, each having different kinds of chess pieces. Some of them were already missing.

"Huh, this looks like a cute little pony head. We should pick this." Yang commented on a knight piece on a pedestal.

"Sure." Blake replied. It wasn't probably important.

"I'm guessing these are the real relics. We weren't the first ones here though." She said as she approached and picked up a golden Knight piece.

"That wasn't too hard!" Yang said she inspected their relic.

"Well, the instructions were to just head north. It wasn't that hard to spot it if you used the trees to look for it. Should we go back to Beacon cliffs?" Blake asked.

"Well, if it's alright with you. Can we wait for my little sister?" Yang requested. She was worried of her baby sister. Yang was confident in her abilities but from that roar they heard earlier, she didn't want to take chances.

"Sure. We could use the rest anyway." Blake smiled a little bit and sat down on a fallen pillar understanding her partner's worries.

"Thanks partner." Yang said with a smile as she did the same.

/0/

"Just admit that we're lost!" Ruby said as she followed Weiss throughout the forest.

"We are NOT lost! I know exactly where we're going. We're going to the forest temple." Weiss replied as she navigated through the forest. Though admittedly, she really doesnot know where they were going.

"Ugh oh stop complaining. It's not like you know where it is either!" Wiess stopped and hissed at Ruby.

"At least I don't pretend like I know everything like a big stupid jerk! And I hate you!" Ruby was fuming. Not once in her lifetime had she have to deal with a snobby girl like Wiess.

"Oh shut it. Let's just keep moving." Weiss was angry as well though she tried to at least be calm in the situation they're in. Ruby was making it harder for her.

"Why are you so bossy?!" Ruby angrily asked.

"I'm not bossy!" Weiss snapped at her.

"Well stop treating me like a kid!" Ruby replied.

"Well stop acting like one!" Weiss countered.

"Stop acting like you're perfect!" Ruby practically yelled.

"I'm not perfect…" Weiss turned around. It was unbecoming of a Schnee to keep yelling.

"… not yet. But I'm still leagues better than you." Weiss continued walking trying ignoring Ruby.

"You don't even know me…" Ruby muttered in a sad tone as she followed.

The two continued their trek to the forest temple. Their current relationship however is still very, very rocky.

/0/

15 minutes has passed since Blake and Yang rested and waited for Ruby. Yang was beginning to becoming restless while Blake was on a lookout.

"You need to calm down. Panicking won't help us in this situation." Blake tried to calm her partner down.

"Panicking?! Who says I'm panicking?!" Yang answered in a rather panicked voice.

"I'm sure she's fine Yang. Your sister got into Beacon 2 years early after all. Have faith." Blake put her hand on her shoulder. It seemed to work.

Yang took a deep breath. She was right, she couldn't afford to panic. If she were to look for her now, it would've lowered the chances of her ever finding Ruby. The logical thing to do right now was to wait in this Temple.

A rustle from a nearby bush suddenly caught their attention. They readied their weapons in case that this was agrimm. However the both of them breathe a sigh of relief when a familiar figure came out along with some others.

"Yang? Blake?"

Jaune came out holding Pyrrha in his arms. She seemed to be unconscious.

"Jaune! What happened?!" Yang asked as she ran towards them. She would've cracked a joke about having a princess in his arms or something but the current situation was rather serious. She'll do it later.

"It's alright, she just ran out of energy and aura." Jaune assured her as he set Pyrrha on a fallen pillar, making sure she was comfortable while Nora put her weapons beside her.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Blake asked. Aura after is essential for the survival of a hunter.

"Which is why we didn't want to wake her. Sleeping helps in regaining Aura and by the looks of it. It's already working. I'm Lie Ren by the way." Ren answered and introduced himself.

"Blake. That's Yang." Blake nodded.

"'Sup!" Yang greeted him.

"And this is-"Ren gestured towards the person by his side however there was no one there. He looked around to see Nora already grabbing a rook piece.

"Haha! I'm queen of the castle~ I'm queen of the castle~" Nora cheerfully sang asshe waved the relic in her hand.

"That's Nora." Ren sighed and gestured towards her.

"Hello!" She cheerfully waved at them

Blake and Yang waved back while giving her awkward smiles.

Yang then turned to Jaune.

"Jaune have you seen Ruby?" She asked hoping she would get an answer.

"Wait… she isn't here yet? We gotta look for her. It's already getting dark." Jaune asked.

"Yeah. I've waited long enough. Let's go Jaune."

Jaune nodded however just before they could leave a screech could be heard from above.

They all looked up and saw a huge nevermore flying overhead. It seemed be irritated by something.

"hmm. Does this Ruby girl wear a red cloak?" ren asked.

Yang then cocked her head towards him and grabbed his collars.

"Yes! Have you seen her!?"

Ren only pointed his finger up. Yang looked to where he was pointing at. It was the nevermore, though upon closer inspection she could see a red streak fluttering beside it.

"RUBY!" Yang screamed.

"HOW THE HECK DID SHE GET UP THERE?!" Jaune yelled.

/0/

'uhnn…wha..?" Pyrrha woke up to see Jaune running around in a panic alongside Yang. There were others with them.

She stood up and walked towards the people that they were with.

"What's going on?" Pyrrha asked a black haired girl.

Blake merely pointed up. Pyrrha looked up and saw a giant nevermore circling above them. She looked back at the Blake with a questioning gaze. Sure it was a nevermore, but it was a lone nevermore, all of them could take it. There may have been a time that these flying creatures were an extreme threat however with the creation of long ranged weaponry; it just made it easier to kill these things.

"Look closer." Blake told her.

Pyrrha did as she was told.

"what are you- OH MY GOSH RUBY!" Pyrrha yelled. She instinctively pulled out her sword and shifted it into rifle form.

Jaune and Yang turned to the familiar voice.

"Pyrrha?! You're alright!" Jaune and Yang gave her a quick hug which made her blush a bit. However she then remembered about the attack earlier.

"The deathclaw! Jaune are you alright?!" Pyrrha quickly inspected Jaune for major injuries.

"Deathclaw?" Yang tilted her head.

"I'm fine. We'll take later once we save Ruby." Both girls nodded.

"We gotta find a way to lure that thing towards us!" Yang said.

"No need." Ren interjected.

The three of them looked up.

"Oh." Pyrrha said.

"My." Yang continued

"G-" Jaune followed

"Pancakes!" Nora interjected.

The group could see a read streak falling down towards them. Ruby was falling.

"Why isn't she using her landing strategy!?" Yang asked in a panicked voice.

She ran towards the place where the girl was falling hoping to catch her however Jaune beat her to it. Somehow he was faster than her. He just ran past her. She was honestly surprised. He didn't look much from their first encounter.

She saw Jaune jump up using the momentum from his running, effectively catching Ruby midair to prevent backlash. Of course, by catch she meant pounce.

Yang could hear Ruby's squeak as she was pounced by Jaune, both of them landing on a bush.

Yang then ran towards where they landed. She saw that Ruby and Jaune were alright and breathed a sigh of relief. Though she grinned and raised an eyebrow on the current position of the two. She pulled out her scroll and took a picture.

Pyrrha soon joined them.

"Ruby are you al-…oh my…" Pyrrha covered her mouth and blushed.

"Owww….! That was a stupid Idea… Oh hey Yang! Hey Pyrrha!" Ruby sat up and turned to Yang and Pyrrha.

"Enjoying the ride, Ruby?" Yang wiggled her eyebrows..

"Ride? What ri-" Ruby looked down and saw that she was sitting on Jaune. His arms were still locked to her sides. It took a while for her to process what was happening before she blushed so hard that her face almost took on the color of her cloak.

"Eeek!" Ruby stumbled back getting off him.

"Ow.. that was a close call…heheh. Are you alright Ruby?" Jaune gave her a smile as he asked the question.

"W-w-w-w-wha-" Ruby was stammering.

"Hate to interrupt you four but there's another person falling towards us." Ren suddenly appeared behind Yang and Pyrrha.

Jaune stood up and walked out in the open with the others to see a white haired girl falling towards them. Though this time she seems to be using her glyphs to slow down her fall.

"Oh, it's Ice queen." Yang recalled the crabby heiress.

Until the nevermore broke her balance as it turned around for her. This time she was now seriously falling.

They could catch her. But that doesn't stop the momentum of the fall. She would break in their arms if they would do that. The only option would be to do the same thing Jaune did. Jaune remembered Ren mentioning something about Nora's strength when they were navigating the forest together.

Jaune sighed.

"Nora. Throw me." Jaune looked at Nora with a serious expression.

"Kay" Nora answered as she grabbed his arm, spun around and threw him.

The girl's watched with their mouths open as he once again pounced on another girl, though most of their surprise was from the ornage haired girl that just threw a grown teenager 10 feet in the air in an arc.

"Got her!" Jaune yelled as he successfully pounced on Weiss.

"Woo! Three points!" Nora cheered.

"Nice shot." Blake commented with a raised eyebrow while nodding.

"A valid and appropriate action." Ren commented.

A distant tree shook as they both crashed on it.

"Ooooh that's gotta hurt." Yang and Ruby winced.

"I hope they're alright." Pyrrha added.

/0/

"Ugh…two times the charm…" Jaune winced as he gently pushed Weiss off him.

"Thanks. " Weiss began to fix herself up.

"Ugh, I can't believe her. I can't believe she left me." Weiss said while she fixed her hair.

"Well you aren't exactly the nicest person she's met. You basically chewed her up when you two first met."Jaune said as he stood up.

Weiss glared at him a little bit causing him to flinch a bit. True she was harsh towards the girl. If Ruby were to be her partner for the rest of her school life then she'd have to at least have standards. She tried to calm herself down.

Also it didn't help that the boy standing here now was the person that stole Pyrrha from her. But she just figured that it didn't matter now. It was Pyrrha's decision. She took a deep breath as she started to talk.

"I just don't get how an inexperienced child like her made it to Beacon." Weiss said as she turned around to face him.

"You just met. It's a little early to judge her don't you think? Try to know her better. You're partners now after all." Jaune said as he began to walk towards the others.

Weiss pondered for a little bit before she followed behind the boy. Jaune had a point. She'd be just like her father if she continued to judge Ruby. She decided to give her a chance. She began to think how she would handle the girl. Her thoughts were cut off however when Jaune stopped and unsheathed his weapon. Gunshots could be heard in a distance. She moved beside the boy as saw that the others were now engaging a rather enraged Nevermore and a Deathstalker.

Ruby, Yang and Blake were engaging the nevermore while Ren,Nora, and Pyrrha faced the Deathstalker.

They both looked at each other and nodded before they proceeded to join in the fight against the grimm.

/0/

Yang hated to bring her fight unto others but she needed to help her sister fight against the enraged Nevermore. She had to rely on Pyrrha and the others to deal with the Deathstalker which had somehow hunted them down with a vengeance. The Nevermore was now flying low trying to use its razor sharp talons to attack them while also using its feathers as projectiles.

"Thanks again! Pyrrha! And sorry about the deathstalker!"

Yang yelled as she fired explosive shells on the Nevermore. The thing was tough, It looked like the attack barely scratched it.

"No problem! Just focus on bringing that down!" Pyrrha shouted back.

Yang's group were now jumping across the temple's pillars and roof, trying to get to higher ground to fight the airborne Grimm while also dodging the feathers.

Blake was jumping and swinging around the nevermore using her pistol-sickle-sword thing that was attached to one tough ribbon that it had to be infused with dust to make so that it could handle her weight. Her pistol was useless against it so she opted to just keep on slashing it.

Ruby was using her semblance to incorporate hit and run tactics but it seemed like it was only making it angrier.

"It's feathers are too tough! What are those things made of!?" Ruby exclaimed as she landed on a pillar.

"We hit it harder!" Yang said as she punched her palm.

"It won't work! It's feathers are too tough! We'd just be wasting ammo and we're already running very low on it!" Blake said as she dodge the talon of the Grimm.

Ruby tried to make a plan. The nevermore's feathers act like scale armor so it would be useless to just attack it plus it's airborne. Outside is not an option.

"I've got it! We destroy it from the inside!" Ruby yelled.

"Ruby look out!" Yang called out to her. A talon was coming her way and she didn't notice it.

Ruby turned her head and saw the razor sharp talons of the nevermore coming her way. She couldn't dodge. She closed her eyes as she braced for impact. However she was suddenly pulled back by something effectively saving her from the talon.

"You are so childish." A voice called out to her.

Ruby looked behind her to see a black glyph holding her mid-air. The glyph disappeared after a second and she softly fell to the soft grass. She looked up to see a glaring heiress however something seemed different. It looked as if this glare was somewhat…gentler?

"Weiss?"

"And dim-witted, and Hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style. And I suppose, I can be a bit… difficult. But if we're going to do this…"

Weiss then held out her hand, which Ruby accepted, and hoisted her up.

"We're going to have to do this together."

Ruby could not believe what she was hearing.

"Ruby! Are you alright?!" Yang suddenly glomped Ruby.

"Owww Yang shtooop!…Wait what about the nevermore?" Ruby asked.

"She's got it." Yang smirked.

"I don't got this!" Blake yelled as she kept dodging the Nevermore's attacks before she landed beside Yang. Blake summoned a clone which distracted the Nevermore, giving them enough time to regroup.

"Yang!" Blake glared.

"Hehehe sorry." Yang scratched her head.

Blake just stared at her and took a deep breath.

"It's okay. So what's the plan." Blake asked the group.

The four looked at each other.

"We can't kill it from the outside. How about we kill it from the inside? It's got one huge mouth doesn't it?" Ruby suggested.

"Are you suggesting we get inside it's mouth?!" Weiss winced.

"What?! No! I'm saying that we feed it with highly explosive dust!" Ruby said confidently.

"We gotta make it land first." Blake added.

"No need. You girls give me your fire Dust. All of it." Yang said.

The looked at each other for a moment and nodded before complying.

"Incoming!" Ruby yelled as the Nevermore headed straight for them.

They all dodged and ran towards the temple.

/0/

 _-At the same time-_

Jaune's group was struggling against the Deathstalker. It's pincer attacks were quite slow and cumbersome. Just goes to slow how heavily armored those pincers were. It's the stinger that's giving them huge problems. It was fast, flexible and powerful. Not to mention the toxins it housed. They needed to get rid of it. Any attempt of subduing the grimm were hindered because of it.

Thankfully, Nora's hammer was powerful, each hit actually damaged the insides of the creature, armor was of no use against the Valkyrie. However she was just one person. The deathstalker used its tail and stinger to focus attacking her. She struggled dodging the tail and stinger. She was fast, however the Deathstalker's tail was faster.

Pyrrha's attacks just scratched the heavily armored pincers. The grimm knew how to utilize its huge pincers as shields. She kept aiming for the ligament however the ancient deathstalker was smart enough to protect them.

Ren focused on shooting at the creature's legs. Trying to cripple the thing to no avail. His machine-pistols lacked the piercing power to effectively damage the grimm. He cursed as his futile attempts.

Jaune wracked his brain for a way to kill the grimm while his group was fighting.

"Damn… this is getting bad…" he commented on the situation.

Jaune gritted his teeth. He felt useless. There they were, fighting for their lives, and here he was just standing here. He wanted to join them however he knew that he'd just weigh them down. He just opted to the only thing he could do right now. Plan.

Then he had it. He noticed that the tail wasextremely flexible, which contrasts to the clunky and stiff movements of its legs and remembered the grimm biology book that he read back in Vale.

 _Deathstlakers are commonly found in the outer kingdom of Vale. Roughly around the size of a dog however could grow even larger depending on its age. It's known for its tough defences and powerful and deadly attacks. It's body armour could withstand a direct blast from explosives luckily there a chink on the armor. The base of the stinger is mostly made up of cartilage making it easy for huntsmen to cut them if their aim as good enough._

He started to bark orders at them.

"Guys! Aim for the base of the stinger! That's it's weak spot!"

Pyrrha nodded and shifter her weapon to its rifle form and started shooting at the stinger right after she jumped back after the grimm smashed it's huge pincers to the ground where she was standing.

The creature screech as the bullets penetrated through the soft part of its tail.

It began to lower its tail to protect it however Nora appeared right behind it and swung her hammer upwards causing the tail to whip up violently. A sickening crack could be heard along with a screech of pain from the grimm. Followed by Ren latching on the the tail and started to shoot at the weak spot before jumping off after he did his damage.

The grimm 's tail was now limp and was stuck in an arc. The stinger dangling dangerously over its head.

The grimm tried to grab Ren with both its pincers , luckily he was pulled back by Jaune in a nick of time.

"Nora! Nail it!" Jaune yelled.

Nora grinned as she propelled herself with her grenade-hammer. She laughed as she fell hammer in hand and smashed the dangling stinger into its head.

"Nailed it!"Nora cheered.

The grimm tried to weakly raise its pincer at them in an attempt to at least kill one of them however it was stopped when a javelin was thrown straight through its eye, piercing it's brain.

Pyrrha approached the grimm carcass and pulled out her weapon before letting out a sigh of relief. The others soon followed. Pyrrha collapsed on Jaune's shoulder. Her aura once again drained. It was a miracle that she was even able to fight with such low aura levels.

Jaune looked towards where Ruby and her group were fighting only to see that Yang was now in the Nevermore's mouth, prying it open with her body and unloading her weapon in it.

The Nevermore let out a cry of pain as explosions occurred in its mouth down to its throat. Jaune could see fire coming out of the wounds in its neck.

It was brutal to say the least.

Down below Blake used her bow and two pillars to create a makeshift giant slingshot while Weiss was pulling Ruby who was standing on a black glyph connected to the centre of the makeshift slingshot.

"They're not gonna-" Jaune said.

"I think they will." Ren nodded.

"That looks incredibly unsafe." Pyrrha commented while she was being supported by Jaune.

"That looks fun! We should do it too!" Nora cheerfully said.

/0/

"Can you make the shot?" Ruby said as she readied her scythe and settled herself on the glyph.

"Of course I can! Who do think you're talking to? Precision ispractically in my fighting style." Weiss assured her.

"Okay, okay. Just making sure. Blake prepare to catch Yang!"

Blake nodded.

"Ready." Blake began the countdown.

"Aim." Weiss added as she narrowed her vision towards the nervermore's neck.

"Fire!" Ruby yelled right before immediately being slingshoted towards the grimm.

Yang jumped back when Ruby gave her the signal before she was caught by Blake as she fell.

Ruby hooked her scythe on the nevermore's neck, firing her sniper scythe to propel herself even further upwards with the grimm in tow.

Finally the giant nevermore's neck gave off as the blade of the scythe pierced and ripped through the already injured neck of the grimm.

"HaaaaAAAAAH!"

Ruby gave a mighty pull with her scythe decapitating the giant grimm high up in the sky.

The grimm corpse gave off a trail of smoke as it descended down.

Ruby used her semblance by turning into rose petals and spiralling down safely and land on a pillar.

She sat in exhaustion at the top of the pillar. She could see Yang waving at her, Weiss giving a sigh of relief and Blake smiling at her.

She also saw Jaune and the rest now joining the three.

Ruby jumped down and joined the rest of them.

As she was heading their way, Ruby noticed their faces change. From happy and smiling to fear and horror. They seemed to be looking behind her so she did as well. There, she saw a large figure coming right at her.

"RUBY!" Yang screamed in horror.

/0/

Jaune's eyes windened and his face contorted into a look of horror as a familiar beast leapt up and went for Ruby.

Time seemed to slow down as the creature's claws swung down towards her.

She was going to die.

The world turned black and white as time stopped.

"… _do you wish for power?"_ a voice asked.

The voice echoed in his head.

"wha- who's there?" He asked. He began to think that this was all a dream.

"… _Do you wish to save the girl?"_ the voice didn't answer but rather asked him another question.

Time began to move again slowly, he could see the claws of the grimm ever going closer and closer to Ruby.

"Yes!Please! anything! Anything to save her!" Jaune screamed.

" _Good."_ The voice just gave an ominous answer.

At that moment Jaune felt a surge flowing in his body.

/0/

Ruby closed her eyes; she didn't have enough time to bring up her scythe to protect herself. She waited for the pain, however it did not come. She felt a sudden gust of wind beside her as she was pushed aside by something.

When she opened her eyes what greeted her amazed her.

She saw her first friend at Beacon blocking the huge grimm's claws with his sword. He was practically glowing, covered in bluish green streaks circling around him. However that wasn;t the most striking feature.

When he turned to look at her, she could see that his eyes had changed. They were now bluish green and his pupils turned to slits like that of a cat.

The grimm seemed shocked as well as the boy appeared to have teleported right in front of it and also stopping an attack that had felled so many hunters.

The boy then proceeded to grab the Grimm by the arm and Threw the 15 foot monster away from Ruby.

"Jaune?..." Ruby asked in a shaky voice.

"Ruby… Get to the others…" Jaune said to her.

The monster recovered from being thrown and was now staring at Jaune with rage in its eyes.

"But-…" Ruby tried to protest. She wanted to help.

"Now!" Jaune yelled angrily. Thunderclouds began to form in the sky. Soon enough it began to rain.

Ruby flinched. Tears began forming in her eyes. It was then that Yang came to her side and hoisted her up in her arms.

"Jaune…" Yang whispered. Jaune looked to the others for a brief moment.

Weiss and Blake were watching intently, he could see them shaking and frozen in fear.

Pyrrha tried to stand up on her own, using her spear as a crutch wanting to help them, thankfully she was stopped by Weiss.

The sight of Nora however almost broke his heart. Of the short time they knew each other, she was the happy go lucky hyper active one. Always bringing smiles and positivity with her. Right now though, she was kneeling on the ground, wide-eyed and pale, shaking. Ren held her close to his chest trying to comfort her.

Pyrrha could do nothing but weep.

"I'll handle this… you guys. Just get to safety." Jaune told her as he stared at the deathclaw.

He recognized it as it recognized him. It was the same deathclaw that they had met earlier. It has somehow survived the fall

The grimm roared as it charged at him at amazing speeds. As it swung down him, Jaune quickly jumped back and delivered a counter blow by quickly slashing the deathclaw's side causing the grimm to yelp in pain as it pierced through the tough bone plating the protected it's ribs.

The grimm then began to frantically swing it's large claws arround trying to hit Jaune to no avail. Each time the monster swung, Jaune dodged and counter attacked.

The others watched in awe as the terrifying grimm struggled to even hit Jaune. It was like he was a different person. He was so fast. Faster than Ruby.

Jaune then decided to just end this already. He charged at the beast at blinding speeds. The monster once again tried to use its large claws and swung at Jaune however he used his sword to cut off said arm. The monster let out a pained roar. Jaune did not stop however, he then began to cut the other arms as well. After that he cut off one leg and broke the other by kicking it sideways.

The grimm was now kneeling. Weezing in pain. Jaune just looked at it. Looking down on it. Until it let out its final roar as it bled to death. It was then that the realized what he was doing.

The others that watched him felt a chill at this scene. It almost as if he was enjoying torturing the monster.

Jaune turned to them and looked at them with his now changed eyes. He saw the look of fear on their faces.

Their fear now shifted unto the boy rather than the grimm. He closed his eyes trying to understand what he just did.

Something in him started to boil. The look on their faces only fuelled it.

It was only quenched when he suddenly felt someone hug him. He opened his eyes and looked down to see Ruby hugging him tightly; her tears flowed from her eyes as the rain kept pouring.

He dropped his sword and reciprocated the hug. He hugged her tightly. It doesn't matter if they'd fear him. At least he had saved his precious friend's life.

Soon enough. The others began to soften. It didn't matter what he did. He saved Ruby's life.

Yang and Pyrrha, who now regained her strength, joined the hug.

Blake breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good work..." Weiss commented silently.

Nora had seemed to calm down. However she was still in Ren's arms.

Ren just gave him a nod and a smile to Jaune.

Two airships soon came bearing the logo of Beacon and landed on the area of the destroyed temple.

"Now I believe you kids are in need of a nice long rest."

Ozpin came out holding an umbrella along with Glynda Goodwitch.

Other hunters also came out of the airship and were starting to investigate the area. Some of them went to check on the dead Deathclaw.

"What about the initiation?" Jaune asked letting go of Ruby.

This piqued the other's attention. They almost forgot that they were on the initiation for beacon. They still couldn't believe that all this happened in just one day.

"Congratulations. You passed."

Ozpin's words gave them relief they were worried that they'd failed because they took too much time on the initiation. It was already dark. The only light source were the bullhead's headlights.

"Though I would've preferred to announce this at the assembly hall but given the circumstances you all deserve some much needed rest. You all also have already been assigned to your teams based on your performance. Headmaster, if you will." Glynda said as she opened her scroll.

Ozpin nodded.

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao-long. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose."

Before said girls could react Ozpin then turned to Jaune.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Vakyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren. From this day forth, you will work together as team JNPR. Led by you." Ozpin said as he looked at Jaune.

Jaune's eyes widened.

"Led by…me?"

Pyrrha put her hand on his shoulder.

"Congratulations, Jaune."

"Now… off you go. You will be escorted to your dorms right after you get a health check-up. And welcome to Beacon"

Glynda said with a soft smile before she and Ozpin went to join the huntsmen.

They stood there for a moment trying to process what just happened.

"Well… That was a thing." Yang commented.

"Rest sounds really nice right about now." Jaune said as he stretched his arms out. The others agreed as they all went to board the airship.

/0/

Ozpin stared at the Dissolving carcass of the deathclaw. He saw the footage of Jaune suddenly change. He saw those eyes. The same eyes as that monster from decades ago. It had seemed that unlocking his aura also unlocked something else. Cloud and Tifa were right. However it did not change the fact that this boy used those powers to save the young Rose. Perhaps, he may need that power for what was to come.

"Sir, they found something." Glynda approached him with a stern and worried look.

Ozpin nodded and followed Glynda.

The aiship flew them 20 kilometers away from emerald forest to an abandoned building. When they arrived they saw dozensof corpses in a state of decay. The looked like White fang members. They were all cut up, no doubt the work of the deathclaw. Inside they saw dozens of cages along with more rotting corpses.

"It seems like the Deathclaw wasn't the only dangerous thing to escape."

Glynda commented.

Ozpin just gripped his cane tighter.

The queen's pawns where here.

* * *

 _ **Right well, sorry for the huge delay. had to deal with some stuff. So anyway onto details. In this fic:**_

 _ **Mistral is not just one culture. It many cultures all packed into one. North is Scandanavian ,West is Greek/Roman, East is Asian, And south is just a mix of all those.**_

 _ **I tried to make it so that Ruby basically kills the nevermore differently as opposed to the show. However I did try to copy how Cloud Strife killed Bahamut Sin on Advent children.**_

 _ **Also I tried to make Nora a little more believable in this fic. That she just masks her fear and nightmares with her cheery and spontaneous attitude. So I'm giving her and Ren PTSD about what happened in Kuroyuri to further develop their characters as well as already establishing their relationship.**_

 _ **P.S: I just realized that fight scenes are not my forte. I'll try my hardest to do better though! Also, I may or may not incorporate many famous nightmare creatures from various media as grimm in this fic.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading! I hope you guys leave comments, suggestions or reviews!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**wew...my laptop broke so I couldn't update this...sorry guys. Readthe A/N below okay?...pretty please?...**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

* * *

The town of Argent is a fairly peaceful place. The entire town was surrounded by a sturdy wooden wall that protected the inhabitants inside. Outside was a large forest which surpridingly had only a few Grimm in it, which helped the town prosper. In a quiet road a large tavern stood. The sign "7th heaven" hung proudly in the front.

A little girl ran past the dozens of people, carrying a small backpack that was colored pink. She had beautiful and vibrant golden hair which was tied to a pony tail. Her eyes were vibrant blue with a touch of innocence to them.

The tavern doors swung open. The little girl then ran towards the 'Personel only area' ignoring the customers who were startled by the girl's hurried pace.

"Mom? Mom!, Mom!" The girl suddenly called out.

"Oh! Ciel! Is something wrong? " A woman in her prime suddenly came out of the kitchen and looked at the girl with a worried gaze.

"Is he here?! Is he back? Is big brother back?! "

Ciel looked expectantly at her mother. However her mother only gave her a sad look and shook her head. She then gave Ciel a hug and kissed her forehead.

"Not yet. Your big brother will be back soon. I promise... "

"Oh... you already said that last week..." Ciel looked down with a sad look on her face.

After a moment she slowly walked towards her room upstairs. This time though a tear could be seen as she dejectedly climbed the stairs.

Tifa could only sigh as she watched her daughter. Ciel was very close to her only brother She practically spent all 9 years of her life with. Ciel would cling to her brother like a barnacle to a rock everychance she gets. She loved every thing Jaune loved. She was very happy back then. Always wore a smile like a little angel. Until Jaune left.

Everyday she would ask the same question. Everyday she would expectantly wait for her older brother to come back. She has even gone so far as to sleep in his room.

"Mom... Will Jaune ever come back? I mean its already been a month. " A young girl asked as she stepped out of the kitchen. She had the same hair and blue eyes however hers was cut short with a few artificial streaks of teal on her hair. She gave off the punky girl vibe.

"I dont know Anya... Your father is doing his best to find your brother. " Tifa answered as she sighed and gave her 14 year old daughter a reassuring smile.

"Tch. Maybe we should just stop. That idiot of a brother shouldnt of have run away like he did. Why the hell should we waste our time on that ass-"

"Anya! " Tiffa cut her off.

"Do not speak of your brother like that... He... Had his reasons. "

Anya was annoyed. Of course she was. Her stupid big brother just up and left them for that stupid dream of his. Not only did he worry them. He hurt the ones that loved him. Especially Ciel. She was never the same when she heard the news. She hated him. She hated how he always wore that goofy grin. She hated how guilable he was. She hated how much of a goody two shoes he was. She... She hated how he can make her happy whenever she was sad. She hated that he would always try to make her laugh when she cried. She hated that he would even go as far to help her by embarassing himself in front of the entire school. She hated that fact that he was not here.

"Tch. "

She quickly turned away from her mother. Hoping to hide her eyes tearing up. However her mother caught on and hugged her from behind.

"Its... Already been a month... " she quietly sobbed.

"I know sweetie... I know. " her mother softly said as she stroked her daughter's hair.

"I.. Im going to my room... I need some time to... Calm down. "

Tifa nodded and let her daughter go.

 _'Mom... Why cant I be a huntsman like the others? Is it because im different? '_ Tifa looked solemnly at a picture on a wall. Taken about a year ago. A picture of a family of ten. She laughed a little bit at how large her family was.

There was her and Cloud. Him still with that peculiar spiky hair of his. Still handsome as ever.

There was Aeris, their first daughter. She'll be 24 soon. She inherited cloud's Blonde hair and her Ruby red eyes. Her hair was tied to a bun and wore glasses. She was quite surprised back then when she decided to be a huntress. She certainly did look like a business woman. She completely looks nothing alike the person she was named after.

Tiffa chuckled a bit.

At her side was Seris. The girl looked like a clone of her mother. She had black long silky hair like her mother however she had Blue eyes instead of red and fashioned her hair into a lomg ponytail. A trait from Cloud. She's currently studying as a Dust Chemist in Atlas. The girl was quite smart. Like her older sister, she too had a somewhat strict attitude when it comes to certain things.

There was Serana. She was the free spirirted competetive one in the family. She had that cocky yet confident grin. She kept her blonde hair at shoulder lengh, sometimes tied it to a ponytail so that it wouldnt snag or distract her during her fights on tournaments. yes, she also wanted to become a huntsman, She even proclaimed that she would surpass her father in terms of strengh. She was quite worried though, since she specifically picked the most dangerous hunter school in all of remnant. Shade. Vacuo has gained quite a reputation for its harsh badlands and what used to be Midgar. She is quite thankful that Serah always contacts them from time to time. She was on her last year at Haven. Just in time for her to participate this year's Vytal festival tournament.

Then there was Joan... Jaune's...twin. She was the one hurt the most when Jaune left. She was hurt that her 'twin' left without saying goodbye. She was still smiling in this picture... Her blonde hair was tied to a bun and her eyes were brilliant saphire. She was currently attending a normal highschool here in Argent.

Speaking of which; The door swung open slowly and said girl walked in.

"Oh... welcome home sweetie." Tifa smiled at her gently.

Joan just nodded. Her bangs covered her eyes.

Tifa was worried to death.

Two other girls then came in after her.

"I-I'm back... " A girl with raven hair and ruby eyes said as she entered. She had long silky hair and her bangs covered most of her eyes.

"Welcome back, Yuria. How was school?"

Ah yes Yuria, her carbon copy. She had her mothers looks. Just not her confidence. Yuria was incredibly shy. She was a huge bookworm. If it werent for her best friend and Jaune, She wouldve just locked herself in her room. It was a miracle that Juane had convinced her to go out more.

"I-it was fine..." Yuria answered.

"Hey Mrs.S!" A violet haired teen greeted.

" Hello Abigail. As always. Thank you for taking care of Yuria."

"Ah well its not a problem Mrs.S... She can be quite a handful at school but I try my best!"

Tifa just smiles at the girl's sinserity.

Abigail Amythest. Yuria's best friend and one of Jaune's closest childhood friends. She was... a feminine tomboy to say the least. She was their next door neighbor so it would make sense that her children would interact with Abigail. She had long Violet hair with a cute little green bow that held back her bangs.

It was the bow that Jaune won during one of Azul's festivals a long time ago. She still wears it till now. How cute...

"Okay then! I gotta go now. Seeya later you two! oh! and give Ciel and Anya my regards!"

Yuria nodded however Joan was unresponsive.

Abigail was about to leave but she stopped at the doorway.

"Is there... any news of him?" Abigail asked without turning to them.

Two sisters flinched.

Tifa just looked down.

"I see... sorry for bringing it up."

Abigail then left.

Tifa then turned to her daughters and stroked their head.

"Your father and your sisters are already looking for him. Dont worry... And I'm sure that when he comes back we'll all give him a scolding... after that we give him a big hug."

Yuria smiled and Joan just merely looked at her mother.

Tifa then embraced her precious daughters.

"Now off you go. You girls rest. I'll look after the tavern tonight."

As usual only Yuria responded.

When the two girls left Tifa went back to look at their family photo once more. She focused on a white haired young man with a bright smile on his face. He had all the features of Cloud... and none of her's. So much so that people often call him his clone. The only thing that he 'inherited' from her was his personality.

Both she and her husband knew that Jaune wanted to be a Hunter all his life. But they both denied him to the point that they wouldnt even let Jaune near anything relating to fighting or violence. They both knew that they were destroying his dreams. But they had to.

They had to... because they were afraid.

 _'I will never be... a memory'_

She remembered those words. The words of that monster.

"Jaune... please come back... "

She muttered before she went back to the bar.

/0/

Jaune sat at the edge of his bed, Thinking about his family back at his hometown. It has been 2 days since the initiation. And a month since he's left. Right now, he feels like he should be celebrating since he's now a hunter in training. But hes not. Instead he felt guilty about leaving his family.

"Jaune? are you alright? are your arms and legs still hurting?"

Pyrrha asked as she fixed the skirt on her uniform.

"I'm fine..."

He answered with a smile.

"I know that you already know this but, try to be careful when you use your semblance. It may be useful but it puts alot of strain on your body."

2 days ago they were all surprised and shaken at my achievement back at the initiation. Aparrently, you needed a full team of professional hunters to take down a deathclaw, and I had killed it alone. Ren figured that it had to be my semblance. In his speculation, Jaune's semblance was super strengh, seeing that he did throw a 15 foot walking meat blender 10 feet away and had managed to cut through tough muscle and bone plating with his sword. The only downside was that it rendered him ,according to others, somewhat cold and merciless. A consequence that confused him.

Ren's theory was further solidified when the next morning, he couldnt move his limbs. His team along with a worried team RWBY accompanied him to the medical bay of the school.

When he told the Doctor that it was the first time he used his semblance, the Doctor said that it was pretty common on semblances to have consequences. First timers tended to have trouble controling thier semblances which ends with them hurting themselves, so the Doctor just told him to rest.

He was thankful that the initiation was held during a friday, he figured that the weekends were used to help the freshmen to rest after the initiation.

However something didnt feel right about his supposed semblance though... He knew that a semblance is the power of one's soul. But this didnt feel like it. Back then... he felt like he was another person. He still wonders about Ren's theory, but he is sure of one thing though, his body isnt used to this power.

He stood up and fixed the tie on his neck.

"So whats our class schedule for today?"

Ren opened up his scroll.

"Well we have Grimm studies at 9-"

Jaune's face paled as he looked at the wall clock.

"9?! it's 8:55! We're going to be late!" Jaune yelled

"9?! it's 8:55 you dunce! We're going to be late!" A familiar voice from across the hall yelled in unison.

No matter, Jaune wasn't going to be late on his first day of classes. He was a hunter in training now and a hunter is never late. Maybe.

He quickly opened the door and coincidentaly so did a certain white haired heiress. They stared in surprise for a moment.

"Grimm studies at 9?" Jaune asked.

"Yep." Weiss answered.

Both Weiss and Jaune hurriedly ran towards the school, their teams followed behind.

/0/

Their first class was Grimm Studies with a large man named Port who is also their Professor. His introduction seemed to last forever. It was so boring that half of the class practically fell asleep. The class only woke up when the professor asked for a volunteer to kill a Grimm right here in the classroom. Jaune actually wondered why there was a giant cage when he first entered the classroom. However it wasnt hard to figure out what was inside it since it kept growling the whole time Prof. Port was talking.

Jaune and Yang laughed at the doodles Ruby drew. Both teams were right beside each other. Thats why he could feel the anger boiling up from the heiress. He kept glancing at Weiss. Again she looks like she was about to blow up. All the while Ruby was picking her nose.

Jaune sighed. It seems that what happened during the initiation wasnt enough to sort out the two partners. He then turned back his attention to the professor.

"Alright, who among you has the mettle to face such fearsome beasts? Who among you wish to prove that you are indeed capable of fighting gr-"

Prof. Port was cut off by the heiress.

"I do!"

/0/

Weiss huffed as the Boarbatusk's corpse started to dissipate. It was a close call. That idiot leader of hers kept distracting her and had the audacity to tell her what to do. She, again, was frustrated. How could she not be the leader? she had far more knowledge than Ruby does!

"Well done Ms. Schnee! I see that we have a true huntress in training in our midst. "

The bell then rang.

"I'm afraid that that is the time we have today. Stay vigilant. And remember to read the assigned readings. Class dismissed."

Weiss left the classroom quickly after glaring at Ruby, leaving her team behind.

However Ruby quickly stopped her by zipping up right in front of her.

"Weiss! what's wrong with you? Why did you-"

"Whats wrong with me? Whats wrong with you!?"

Ruby was taken aback by the heiress's outburst.

"This whole time youve done nothing but slack off! All the time you act like a child just like you did back at the forest! Youre supposed to be our leader!"

"Weiss where is this coming from?" Ruby asked confused by her sudden fit of anger.

Weiss sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I gave you two days to prove yourself that you were a capable leader. Yet all the time youve just been a nuisance to everything this team does. You acted like a child in the forest and continued to do so."

Ruby looked down.

"What about all that talk about working together? what about all those things you said back at the forest? I thought you believed in working together as a team..."

"From what youve showed me these past few days. I'd rather just split off from this team and work on my own. The headmaster made a mistake... Youre just a detriment to me."

Weiss then turned and walked away.

/0/

Those last words hurt Ruby. It hurt her deep. Tears ran down her face. She tried to hold it back but failed to do so. It was a good thing noone was currently here to see her break into tears.

hic*hic*

 _Why was I chosen?..._

"Ruby?..."

A familiar voice called out to her.

"Jaune... do you think that the headmaster made a mistake?"

Ruby turned to him. She didnt mind him seeing her crying.

"No...no he did not Ruby... Ive seen you first hand Ruby, you have got what it takes to be a leader."

Jaune pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped her cheek.

" So dont let Weiss's words get to you. Shes just adjusting to things... " Jaune cupped her chin and tilted her face towards him.

"But all the things she said was true... back then I acted like a child.. I even almost let myself get killed twice... If it werent for you and the others..I- I wouldve just died there. Im a bad leader... Im the worst leader there is..."

"Come on Ruby. School just began. Its too early for you or her to judge. Besides if she insists that youre a bad leader, then show her. Prove it to her that you can be a leader. a great one at that. Show them what it means to lead the strongest first years in beacon!"

Ruby's eyes widened. He was right. She'll show Weiss that she can be a great leader. She was a leader now... the foundation of her team. She has to be strong. Strong for her team.

She gave him a small smile as she wiped her tears away and gave him a hug.

"Thank you..." She whispered.

"No problem..." Jaune atted her back.

/0/

Jaune and Ruby proceeded to the next class after Ruby cleaneed herself up to try and hide her puffy eyes.

They both seated next to each other. However the both of them sat away from their teams, though it was Ruby who chose this. She still had Weiss's words in her mind and Jaune was there to comfort her.

History was always an interesting topic for Jaune. His depravation of anything hunter related gave him a thirst for knowledge about hunters. This class wouldve been interesting if it weren't for the professor who spoke 500 words per second.

Prof- errr... Doctor Oobleck was really hard to follow and it seemed that he wasnt the only one. He could see some students struggle trying to take notes and other just gave up.

He looked beside him to see that Ruby was already faceplanted to her desk groaning and complaining about how dizzy she was.

 _'huh... so her semblance doesnt cover this kind of thing...'_

He too had given up on taking notes. He just put his scroll on recording mode and recorded the professor ,who was now talking about the discovery of dust or something, for review.

The boredom was excrutiating, he wanted to lie down on his desk and sleep but Dr. Oobleck would always scold anyone who did so.

Then class ended. He wanted to visit the forge for an update on the repairs on his armor. Ruby tried to follow him but he declined, telling her that she and her team should sort things out.

However something did bother him. He felt like someone was watching him during the entire class but ignored it and just concluded that it was just his imagination

Jaune reached the park behind the school. There was a proper way to the Forge but he wanted to visit the park for a bit.

He was surprised however when he saw that there were only quite a few people here. He had expected this place to be packed with students mingling.

He continued his scenic route to the forge but stopped when he saw a familiar figure.

He saw Weiss sitting on a garden pavilon drinking tea. She looked lost in her thoughts.

/0/

Weiss was lost in her thoughts. She down at her tea and sighed. Her thoughts turned to the crying face of Ruby.

Her fit of anger from before was unbecoming of her. She didnt want to spend the rest of her school years complaining. Still... she was a bit too harsh this time.

Of course Ruby wasnt prepared to be a leader. She had skipped two years of combat school. How she did that perplexed the heiress. She didnt buy all that stuff about fighting criminals the night before Beacon's opening.

"Hey..."

Her thoughts was cut when someone called out to her by her side. She turned to see the leader of team JNPR.

"Suppose youre here to talk about what I did to Ruby?"

Jaune nodded.

"Well not right now. I'm currently preoccupie-"

Jaune didnt listen, instead he just sat on a chair adjascent of hers.

"ugh..." she groaned.

"Weiss why did you do it...?"

"Its none of your business."

Jaune just stared at her. Unmoving, waiting for an answer.

She sighed. Seems like he wasnt leaving eithout an answer.

"Ruby has done absolutely nothing to earn her position. That and she isnt used to being a leader. I worked hard all my life, Arc. Ive studied, Ive fought and Ive bled to get here... "

The unconsciously carssed her scar.

"I've trained... to be a leader. And here I am.. in the prestigious school of Beacon. Beaten by a 15 year old with a garden tool for a weapon who hasnt even finished her training at her preparatory combat school. You ask me why I said that those things to her... well there you go."

Jaune sighed.

"Weiss... thats exactly why Ozpin chose Ruby as your leader."

Weiss's raised and eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"Excuse me?"

Jaune just looked at her in the eyes.

"In case you havent noticed... Your entire team is full of the most powerful first years in this school. Yang, Blake and you have had completed your training one way or another. While Ruby is still learning...growing. She was just bumped ahead two years. Admit it. You also saw her potential back at the forest. The teachers arent always there to teach her so who else would she turn to? who is going to teach her?"

Weiss stared into his eyes back.

He was right... Ruby did show potential.

"You say that youve trained to be a leader... but have you learned to be a follower? Being a leader isnt just about knowing everything and ordering everyone and telling them what they can and cant do. A leader needs to understand and connect with his or her followers... If you can't do any of those...then you'd be nothing more than a tyranical dictator. "

Weiss's eyes were wide. It was true...

Her actions were bordering down to what her father would do. Truth be told, she has never been the type to follow. She was the type to obey without question... but only to her father. He was... cold and cruel... just like how she was with Ruby...

Weiss's gave off a sad expression.

"But I know that youre a good person Weiss... try to give Ruby a chance. With your guidance, she along with your team could be the strongest huntresses to ever graduate to beacon "

Weiss stared at him. Perhaps she had misjudged him. He was quite mature and well mannered too...

"I'll... I'll take it into consideration..."

Both she and Jaune just stared at each other for a moment before the bell rang.

Weiss quickly sipped her tea. While Jaune went to a nearby vending machine to quickly buy an energy bar.

/0/

Jaune and Weiss arrived 5 minutes late to combat class. The reason was that the arenas were built a long way from the main school building to prevent damages from 'training sessions'.

To their embarassment, they were greeted by an angry Glynda Goodwitch . They were both lectured before she let them go sit down with their teams.

"Where were you guys?" Yang asked beside Blake.

"We were-" Jaune tried to answer but Weiss cut him off.

" **We** were just minding our own seprate businesses. Why are you assuming that we were together?"

"I didnt say anything about you being together."

Weiss suddenly blushed. Yang noticed this and grinned.

"Your face is red... you arent... hiding something arent you Weiss? Like a secret tryst with a certain white haired boy?"

A certain red haired champion and a certain red reaper flinched.

The rest of the team looked at both Weiss and Jaune who at this point was blushing due to Yangs insinuation.

"W-what?! how preposterous!" Weiss exclaimed. Yang just laughed in her seat. All of them were silenced however when Glynda Goodwitch spoke.

"Settle down children..."

Glynda waited for all of the students to shut up and listen.

"As of now you already know who I am, and in case you dont, I am Professor Glynda Goodwitch. I will be your Combat instructor for the majority of all first years."

Glynda continued her introduction before getting to a lesson and eventually ending the class altogether.

The next class was supposed to be Dust chemistry but the door to the classroom was locked and all they got was a document sent to their scrolls. It was an assignment for a 1000 word essay on what they understand about dust and its uses. So the day ended pretty early with that.

/0/

Jaune was headed to the forge again since he missed his chance to visit during lunch. He really wanted to see the condition of his equipment since he needed it for 's class soon. He didnt want to fight anybody without his armor or his sword.

On his way to the forge he felt a familiar feeling behind him. Someone was watching him again. He turned his head and looked behind him. There was nothing there. The hallways were empty as everyone was currently attending classes.

"The heck?...creepy.." Jaune commented.

Jaune arrived at the forge later. It was located right behind the store itself. That mustve been why was the one who managed it when the store manager left.

"Oh if it ain't Wonderboy himself. How's yer limbs? still sore?"

Sachi was moving some boxes when he entered.

"I'm fine now. You still managing the store?"

"Yep! damn girl extended her business in Atlas. So whatcha want right now?" asked as she sorted the boxes.

"I'm here to check on the progress of my equipment. How is it?"

"Well yer armor sustained quite alot of damage so it'll at least take a week to repair. There are massive clawmarks on the chestplate, yer pauldrons are missing a huge chunk of metal and yer gauntlets are cracked."

"A week? but thats-"

"pretty darn impressive fer me. It takes alota time to fix armor ya know? and yours isn't the only equipment I'm managin'" She huffed.

"Right...sorry."

"But I did fix yer sword. It was a good thing that you told yer friend that ya wanted to get it looked at. The parts minus the blade were already wearing down, the parts where the dust is stored melted fer some reason." She paused as she grabbed the new blade behind the counter.

"Wait there was a dust mechanism in it!?" Jaune reacted but she ignored. He really did not know that there was a dust mechanism in it..It mightve been like how Weiss's sword worked.

"Now I know that the Wesson brand is durable but this is the first time I've actually seen the inside of a weapon mechanism melt like that. It looked like the insides were twisted as they melted. Look here."

The smith pulled out a hunk of metal that twisted into a spiral.

Jaune picked it up and examined it. He was somewhat weirded out by the thing. He didn't know why though.

The smith looked at his perplexed face for a bit before continuing.

"I've already replaced it with a custom handle. Unlike the one ya had, this has absolutely no dust application properties."

Jaune just smiled a little bit at her.

"Thanks...Listen I don't really have-"

"Keep it." The smith looked at him in the eye.

"What?..."

"A hunter needs his weapon. Besides, think of it as a reward for passing the initiation. Not many people live to tell the tale of killing a deathclaw alone. I'll just put the repairs on yer armor on a tab. You can pay it when youre ready. Just be sure that you actually pay it.

Jaune was surprised. Ozpin had told them to keep the whole deathclaw at Beacon thing from the public.

"How did you-"

"Eh, I've got my sources." She winked.

Jaune smiled brightly.

"Thank you!"

He wanted to hug her then and there but she was covered in dust and grime from working at a forge.

He thanked the smith once again as he left the Store. He looked outside and saw that the Sun was already setting.

He was practically humming an old themesong of an old cartoon as he clutched his newly fixed katana, which was wrapped by a white cloth, as he headed back to the dormitories. But then he stopped. There it was again. Someone was watching him. He turned around and checked the surroundings behind him. Still, noone was there.

This whole thing was creeping him out. Not wanting to deal with this Jaune hurriedly went to the Dormitories.

Unknown to him that a figure walked out of the bushes as he left. Clutching a brown vintage camera.

"It's you..It's really you."

/0/

A few days later it seemed that Ruby and Weiss had already settled their dispute. It was a sight for sore eyes, they have been fighting 3 whole days, ignoring eachother. Jaune was naive to think that their dispute would vanish overnight. It took 3 days to get them to open up to each other and have them talk it out. However the talks he had with the two girls improved his relationship with them. he would often accompany Ruby to the forge where she would teach him how to properly maintain his weapon, He was also quite surprised at how quickly she befriended Sachi considering her supposed social awkwardness. Weiss had at least tolerated him a little bit. Still the days that followed were quite uneventful and just plain mundane. Until Goodwitch announced they'll have a mock tournament tommorrow. Which worried him greatly. Sure he may of have killed some incredibly dangerous grimm but that was just luck. His swings were very sloppy and amateurish. It was thanks to his 'semblance' that he managed to kill them. But what if semblances werent allowed during the fight. Then his thought were cut off when Ruby spoke as they were eating breakfast.

"That reminds me. Hey Jaune did you ever name your weapon?" Ruby asked as she ate her breakfast.

"Hmm?" He turned his attention to Ruby.

"I mean there IS a slot for weapon name in the arena app for you to register and Ive never actually heard you tell us what its name was."

"Do we really need to name our weapons?"

"We dont need actually. Its just a tradition for hunters to name their weapons." Blake answered.

"Plus its cool. It really gives you the sense of individualism." Yang added.

"Wait... You all named your weapons?" Jaune stopped eating and stared at all of them.

"Yep! Crescent rose remember?" Ruby answered.

"Ember Cilica" Yang followed as she ate her bacon.

"Myrtenaster" Weiss said as she sipped on he early morning tea

"Gambol shroud."Blake said not even looking at them and just focused on her book.

"Milo and akuo" Pyrrha said as she smiled at him

"Storm flower" Ren added before he took a sip of his herbal tea

"Nora! i mean Maginhild!" Nora said cheerfully while suddenly standing up and raising bothe her arms

Everyone siad the named of their weapon one by one.

"You didnt name yours?" Ren asked as he sipped his herbal tea.

"Wha- w-well yeah I did. I mean what kind of hunter doesnt name his weapon, of course I named my weapon..

. haha.."

"you didnt... didn't you?" Ruby looked at him with a deadpan look.

"Well names are optional." Weiss of all people defended him. Which surprised everyone on the table.

"What?" Weiss looked at them questioningly.

Ruby gasped suddenly catching the attention of the whole group.

"That means this is the moment when you name your weapon! This is it's baptism!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly.

She then scooted over to Jaune.

"What are you gonna name it?!" Ruby looked at him expectantly. It was to be expected though, she was a total weapons nut.

Before he could answer the bell then rang.

"Awww..." Ruby pouted.

As they all stood up he then gave Ruby a pat on the back.

"I'm still deciding. I never realized that naming your weapon was a big deal. I'll let you be the first to know. I promise."

Ruby's face then lit up.

"Okay it's a promise then!"

"Let's go you dunces!" Weiss yelled. She and the rest were waiting at the exit.

/0/

Professor Port's class was as boring as ever. All he did was tell stories about his past which may or may not be fabricated or exaggerated. Usually he would fall asleep halfway through his class but this time however he was currently preoccupied staring intently on a notebook.

"Hmmm... what about silver slash? ugh..no..no...maybe...Yellow death?...nah...hmmm..."

Jaune was currently struggling trying to figure out an awesome name for his sword.

The class ended and they all went to history class.

On the way he could feel that gaze again. It's always during Dr. Oobbleck's class. Sometimes Before and sometimes after. Jaune would always try to look for the source of this feeling but to no avail. He hadn't tried to tell most of his friends to try to not worry them over such a small thing. During class Jaune tried to continue naming his sword but Oobleck stopped him. As always the entire classroom was a mess. The teacher's desk was very unorganized and paper flew everywhere and there was a huge map stuck on the whiteboard along with some... he... he pinned several notes on the whiteboard. He actually pinned them on the whiteboard. THE WHITEBOARD.

It didn't matter. Almost of all of them had already accepted this. The professo- doctor was zipping around the classroom as he did his lecture. Thankfully though, his lessons were actually quite interesting for Jaune. Before he wouldve just used his recorder to record the lecture and slow it down later but soon enough he began to get used to the doctor's fast pace.

" Prior the the Faunus Rights revolution or more commonly known as the Faunus war, humankind was quite adamant on centralizing the faunus population in Menagerie."

Oobleck snapped a pointing stick to a small continent on the map.

"While this must feel like ancient history to you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events. Why the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!"

The professor paused breifly as he took a sip of coffee.

"Now. Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus Heritage?"

The class looked to each other before a few faunus students raised their hands one by one. Juane turned his head towards them. There was a girl with some parts of her skin covered in scales, a guy having horns, and a girl who had gills on her neck. However something caught his attention though. The final girl had bunny ears. Jaune's eyes widened for a bit at how cute she was. She had brown hair and brown eyes. Her bunny ears were brown as well. She seemed like the timid type of girl. There was an air of simplicity in her. However what caught his interest was that somehow, he felt like he'd seen her before.

The girl caught Jaune staring at her and blushed before she hid her face with her book.

'woah...that's pretty adorable...' Jaune said in his thoughts.

"Dreadful! simply dreadful!... Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!" The doctor said before he took another sip.

"I mean just look at what happened to the White fang!"

A few of the faunus students flinched.

"Now which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?"

Weiss quickly raised her hand and answered.

"The battle at Fort Castle."

"Yes, precisely! and who can tell me the advantage of the faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

Jaune tried to look it up in book however something small hit him in the head.

"Ow. hey!" He rubbed the back of his head and turned around to see Cardin Winchester, the school bully, Laughing. He glared at him and tried to say something however he was stopped when-

"Mr. Arc! Finally a contribution to the class! This is excellent! EXCELLENT!"

Jaune stared at the doctor. It was true. He didn't participate much in class.

"What is the answer?"

Jaune stood up.

"The answer?...is...well..." He began to look around. He cursed in his head. He didn't reach that far in advance in his studies. The man goes through a 20 page chapter like it's just one page so it's always unpredictable. So now for the answer.

'Now think Jaune, what do the faunus have that humans don't?...their traits.'. He wracked his brain for any possible advantages of faunus over humans.

"It was their traits. Faunus have been known to be more stronger than humans and have abilities and quirks aside from a hunter's semblance. Like when you have scales. Scales can act as natural armor which helps a person with it gain more protection from the elements, Bull horns can act like weapons, A rabbit's ears can give them super enhanced hearing and gills is essential for underwater combat since it allows water based faunus to breath in water. Now I'm not saying that these traits need to be used in battle. They're also used in a plithera of life saving jobs like being a coastguard, a firefighter...and even hunters and huntresses. "

Jaune paused for a bit. The faunus students were wide-eyed as they looked back at him as well as some of the other students. Deep down he was incredibly embarrassed though, he was making a scene. However if the professor said that he was participating in the class less then he'd have to do his best to participate. Right now though, he was just making an answer with logic even though he had no knowledge of the battle at Fort Castle. All he could do now was pray that his assumptions were correct.

"But theres also the most common trait the all faunus have. Their eyes. They have natural night vision. That gave them the edge on the war. Unfortunately though it was these traits that separated them from humans."

The doctor just stared at him for a bit. Jaune gulped.

"uhh... was my answer wro-"

"EXCELLENT! very well done! ! Very well done indeed!" Oobleck exclaimed surprising Jaune.

Jaune let out a sigh of relief.

Cardin however scoffed audibly.

"Mr. Winchester, perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject." The doctor turned his head at the bully.

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier. I think the whole 'faunus are stronger than humans' crap is a load of bull. Humans are far smarter than those animals after all. Maybe it was just because those who fought during the war were just inept and useless. And that the faunus were just good at following orders. If they were 'stronger' than humans then why did they let themselves get enslaved?"

The other students started to glare at him.

"You aren't the most open-minded of people are you Cardin?" Pyrrha said as she glared at him.

"What you got a problem?"

Pyrrha glared at him. He seemed unfazed however when Oobleck walked up to him.

"Hm. We shall talk about this later "

The doctor said before he returned to the front.

"Night vision in one thing however there is another reason why the faunus won. Could someone tell me the second reason why General Lagune failed?"

This time it was Blake who raised her hand and answered.

"General Lagune tried to attack the faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched when the faunus counterattacked in the darkness and He was later then captured."

Blake paused and looked at Cardin before continuing.

"Perhaps he wouldn't of have been captured f he'd just paid attention in class."

Cardin growled at Blake and slammed his fist as he stood up.

"Mr. Winchester, please take your seat."

Cardin reluctantly sat back down his seat and was fuming the entire duration of the class.

The professor continued his lesson until the class ended. Jaune and the others were on their way out but since Jaune's seat was in front of the bully, Cardin pushed him down to the floor. Surprising the group. Pyrrha clenched her fists and tried to do something to Cardin but was stopped by Ren.

"Out of the way loser." Cardin scoffed and smirked.

"Mister Winchester! Come see me at my office. Now." Bartholomew Oobleck said with an angry but calm tone.

Cardin glared at Jaune and his circle of friends before leaving.

"What an asshole." Yang commented as she offered her and to help Jaune.

"Tell me about it. The hell's his problem?" Jaune said as he took Yang's hand and hoisted him up.

"Why is he so mean to the faunus?" Ruby asked.

"The Winchesters were one of the great noble families in Vale. They fought in the faunus wars. My guess is that there must be some bad blood between his family and the faunus." Blake answered.

"Still he was way out of line. Any let's go." Jaune said as he dusted off his uniform.

The others nodded and off they went to the caffeteria

/0/

"I know! we should punish him! We should totally break his legs!" Nora said cheerfully.

Jaune chuckled at her joke.

"She's serious you know." Ren said as he looked him.

Jaune's expression changed.

"Woah. He's an ass but that doesn't mean we'd just break his-" Jaune tried to reason with Nora. However he was cut off by someone's cry of pain.

"Ow! that hurts... please stop..."

It was the bunny girl. She was being harassed by Cardin and his team.

"Hahaha! see I told you they were real!" Cardin mused as he pulled the poor girl's ears. Small tears could be seen from the corners of her eyes.

Everyone in the caffeteria was looking at him with disgust. Even Weiss who had a distaste for faunus was disgusted at his actions.

"Why is noone doing something?!" Ruby yelled quietly at the others.

"Remember when I said that the Winchester were one of the old noble families in Vale? Well his father is a part of Vale's council. Everyone here is afraid of being kicked out since his father is also one of the Board of Directors of the school." Blake ansered while clenching her fists and glaring at the scene.

"Hey where's Jaune?" Nora asked.

The others broke their eye contact at the scene and looked at Nora before they heard loud audible gasps from the people around them. They all turned their attention to the bullies to see Cardin drenched in various food and drinks. However what surprised them was that Jaune was there holding a tray in his hands. His eyes turned to slits at he glared at the bully.

"Oops. I slipped."

Jaune said coldly. Cardin then balled up his fists and grabbed Jaune by the collar and his team was right behind Cardin preparing to hurt Jaune. However Jaune made no response, he just glared at them coldly. He just looked at them as if they were just bugs.

"Go ahead. Hit me. This place is filled with security cameras. Hitting me would cause you to break the rules. I don't think daddy would appreciate his son being called to the headmaster's office."

Cardin smirked.

"Bitch my dad is the director, what the fuck makes you think Ozpin has the power to kick me out of the School my dad funds?"

However Cardin was surprised when Jaune started laughing.

"So you just hide behind your Daddy's protection? waving his privilege card all around? quite a daddy's boy. He must be really proud of you."

There was tension in the cafeteria. Literally everyone stopped what they were doing. Blake noticed his eyes change.

"His semblance is activated. Then that means..."

They all heard her but were unable to react because of the scene right in front of them.

Cardin then punched Jaune, causing Jaune to fly back a couple meters from the bully. However Jaune chuckled and stood up. Cardin approached jaune and gave him another punch. Again Jaune just chuckled. He picked up Jaune by the collard and prepared to punch him.

"Is that all you've got?... maybe you could call daddy and get him to fight your fights."

Cardin screamed in anger as he punched Jaune away from him. causing Jaune to crash on some tables.

"Stop it! Please stop!" The bunny girl cried.

Team RWBY and the rest of Team JNPR then stood up however they stopped when the cafeteria doors suddenly opened. It showed a man in a fancy gold trimmed robe. He had dark brown hair and green eyes. He was sporting a short-boxed beard which somewhat gave him an air of authority. the wrinkles on his face were somewhat pronounced but he still looked young despite it. Beside him was the headmaster and the vice-headmistress.

"Cardin."

Cardin was startled. He looked at the man before him.

"Dad?"

Jaune's eyes widened for a bit. He looked at both father and son alternatively.

"W-what are you doing here?"Cardin asked looking like a child who was caught doing something bad.

"I was here to inspect on the current state of the school, seeing as how I'm the Director of this school."

His Father glared at his son and then looked at Jaune who was still on the floor. This time however his supposed semblance has shut off leaving him with his normal teal blue eyes.

"Are you alright, boy?"

He asked. Jaune nodded in response before the older Winchester turned to his son.

"I've heard about what you did to the faunus students here. I... am very disappointed in you Cardin. What would your mother and sister say?" He looked at Cardin with a disappointed gaze.

"She's not my mother and that thing is not my sist-"

"SILENCE!" His father's voice boomed.

"Ozpin. I need to speak to my son privately. We shall continue our meeting later."

Ozpin nodded.

"As you wish. I must also speak with young here. Come now Mr. Arc"

The Winchesters left the cafeteria along with Jaune and the Headmaster while Glynda stayed to fix the cafeteria. coincidentally the bell rang, marking the end of lunch break.

As they went on their way, Jaune looked back to his friends and the bunny girl. Team RWBY and the rest of team JNPR were staring at him with worried looks. The bunny girl had streams of tears coming out of her eyes.

Before he left he gave the bunny girl a smile which surprised the bunny girl, however she smiled back at him as she wiped her tears away and mouthed a thank you.

/0/

The bunny girl was standing there with her hand on her chest and a smile on her face.

'He hadn't changed one bit...'

She was worried though. He got into trouble because of her. Her ears drooped and she frown.

"hey are you alright?"

The girl's ears perked up and turned her head towards the source of the voice to see Ruby Rose and the rest of Jaune's friends who had worried looks on their faces.

"I'm...I'm alright."

Blake approached her and checked her ears. However the bunny girl moved back out of instinct.

"Do they still hurt?" Blake asked with concern.

"N-no...not anymore..."

"I'm beginning to think that breaking his legs would do us good." Pyrrha commented.

"Yeah. Why the hell did Jaune not hit back?!" Yang's eyes were red with anger.

"If he hit back then he'd get in more trouble. Had he fought back then he'd be expelled for hitting the director's son." Blake answered. The Bunny girl nodded.

"lucky he got pulled out by his dad. I would've just pummeled him." Yang puncher her fists together.

"Well, his team mates are still here." Ren turned to the rest of team CRDL who were sneakily trying to get away from them.

"Leg breaking time." Nora grinned evilly. The rest of team Cardinal squeaked and huddled in fear.

"No! no please...don't do anything rash. You'd get in trouble too. A-and besides, we should get to our classes." The bunny eared girl stood before them.

"Ms. scarlatina is right. You seven should get to my class. I will not tolerate tardiness. I will excuse you all including this time. So go get to the arenas." Glynda approached them and gave them a stern look before she left.

The group looked at each other. Those that were raring for a fight sighed and nodded.

Before Velvet could leave however Ruby approached her.

"Wait, you didnt tell us your name. My name's Ruby!"

"Velvet. Velvet Scarlatina."

They all introduced themselves and later separated for their classes.

Although a lot has happened today most of them bad but Velvet was happy to know that her childhood friend never changed.

/0/

Mount Nibel was as dreadful as it always was. The place reeked of corrupted life stream. Vincent felt a sudden spike in the corrupted life stream about a month ago. It felt like what was once docile and unmoving suddenly became erratic and restless.

The inside of mount Nibel was filled with grimm. No doubt attracted by the negativity of the place. Still it was an infestation. Hundreds upon hundreds inhabited the inside and the outside of the mountain. What used to be Nibelheim was now a dead ghost town filled with ghouls and other grimm. Just awhile ago he had to kill a den full of Deathclaws just to reach the main reactor of the abandoned Mako reactor.

When he reached the door, he was surprised to see lights on it. The power supply of the reactor should've died a long time ago.

He opened the hatch and what greeted him inside sent chills in his body.

The place was clean and functional.

He looked around to see a dozen monitors, there was even a lounging area, and a small garden.

He then heard a shuffle behind him.

Vincent turned around and pointed his gun to the source but faltered when he saw a small young girl who looked barely 9. She had white hair which was tied to a pony tail and teal blue eyes. She was holding a small stuffed toy.

"You should leave. Big sister doesn't like visitors."

Before he could say anything something pierced his back. Blood came out of his mouth as he looked behind him. He saw a white haired girl grinning maniacally at him. It was her eyes however which caught his attention. They were slits...

The girl then started to sniff at him. Before grinning even wider.

"You smell like big brother..."

"a...remnant?..." Vincent said before he looked down to see what pierced him.

It was a katana with a missing tip. The sensation however was familiar.

It was what's left of sephiroth's sword.

He could feel his body grow weaker. He needed to do something.

He raised his gun to his shoulder and tried to shoot the remnant's head. The remnant pulled out the shattered katana and jumped back.

He then quickly used his power to turn into a sentient cloak and escape. He had expected to be chase however they did not come. Instead they just looked at him as he escaped.

It doesn't matter. He needs to tell Cloud and the rest about this.

~to be continued~

* * *

 _ **A/N~**_

 _ **-Wew...that was alot. Sorry for the huge delay guys, I was currently busy with stuff irl and my laptop kinda broke so I was forced to use my android phone to type.**_

 _ **-It was hard...really hard.**_

 _ **-So yeah.**_

 _ **-now for the notes regarding the story:**_

 _ **-The one-winged angel is not his semblance, it's something else.**_

 _ **-I also decided that it would be better to not show the perspective of Ozpin to give a mysterious headmaster sort of vibe.**_

 _ **-It's never stated why the teachers or the other students didnt stand up to Cardin in the canon. So I tried to delve into it in this fic.**_

 _ **-Aerith's themesong in Velvet's scenes ;D**_

 _ **-will she die or will she not? if not who will? will anyone die? will Yamcha defeat Perfect Cell? find out next week!**_

 _ **-I also portrayed Weiss as a mature figure rather than an entitled princess. She will have her moments though.**_

 _ **-I decided to call the sephiroth-infected life stream as the corrupted life stream since it sounds better...or not. What do you guys think? What is it officially called anyway?"**_

 _ **-I finally have the look I was looking for. Initially I tried to picture a younger cloud stife as Jaune however it was too OOC so I just decided that he'll have his normal hair but this time white. His clothes will be the same as I had initially pictured him though. My friend Kranell from Deviant art drew me an illustration. Here!**_

 _ **[ art/A-different-Story-728521327]**_

 _ **-also I'll try my best to update frequently. I'm glad that I garnered over 100+ followers and 90+ guys! You're the best!**_

 _ **-Oh! and leave a review okay?**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter** **6**

* * *

Jaune was lost in his thoughts as he followed the headmaster back to his office. All he could think about was what happened back there.

He was afraid. That time at the mess hall, he felt himself go numb as he saw Cardin harass the bunny girl. He felt something well up inside him. The next thing he knew, he had just dumped a tray of his lunch on Cardin. Cardin gave him an intimidating glare however he was unaffected by it. It wasn't right. He should've been intimidated by it. Instead what he felt however was disgust. Not at the bully's words and actions, but his mere existence. He looked at Cardin as if he was just some bug. An insignificant being.

That was wrong. That wasn't like him. He would never look at another person like that. Bully or otherwise. What made it worse was that in the back of his mind he actually wanted to strike the bully down right then and there after he humiliated Cardin. The worst part was that it...somehow satisfied him. It satisfied him how much the bully was getting affected by mere childish taunts. It was funny to him. It was lucky his father and the headmaster came as they did... He shuddered at the thought of what he might've done had they not come.

It had become something from standing up for the rabbit girl to just plain humiliate and aggravate Cardin. And it disgusted him.

Was this because of his semblance?...

"Mr. Arc?...are you alright?"

Jaune looked up to the professor.

"Huh?..oh y-yeah...I'm...fine."

"No. No you are not." The headmaster looked at him sternly.

"What are you talking abou-" Jaune felt something wet reaching his lips. He licked his upper lip. It tasted of iron. Jaune touched his upperlip with his fingers.

"W-what?..." Jaune saw blood.

"How... Cardin didn't even hit me that har- argh!" Jaune clutched his head as pain shot through him. He wobbled in place as his vision began to blur and his surroundings began to shake.

"Mr. Arc!" Ozpin grabbed Jaune's shoulders and tried to steady him.

Ozpin looked at his eyes and saw that his pupils were changing back and forth from slits to normal pupils rapidly.

"W-wha-...argh! what's happening?!" Jaune asked as the pain kept growing and growing in his head.

"Hold still Jaune!" Ozpin yelled as he once again grabbed Jaune and placed his palm on Jaune's forehead.

Jaune looked at the headmaster as he struggled in pain. And then before he knew it a sudden green light blinded him. And then the pain was gone...

Jaune was breathing heavily. He was both scared and confused as what just happened.

'D-did my semblance do that?...'

"What...what was that?..."

Jaune looked to the headmaster for answers.

"Not here Mr. Arc... Not here..."

Ozpin then stood up from kneeling and gestured Jaune to follow him.

Jaune looked at the professor before shakily standing up. He could still feel his heart beating rapidly. He wanted to just go and rest somewhere but he wanted answers. He was afraid of this happening again. He was afraid of this pain.

He was afraid...

/0/

Ozpin and Jaune reached the Beacon Tower where the headmaster's office was located.

Everyday he could always see this magnificent tower standing tall and all the time he spent here it still didn't get old. It was amazing. Jaune wondered if they called this school 'Beacon' because of it. A beacon for hunters. A beacon for hope against the darkness. A beacon for heroes.

"Magnificent isn't it?... This tower stood here even before the great war... yet it still seems that time has no effect on it."

Ozpin said as he saw the young boy look at the tower in awe. A small smile grew on his face. Most students would just take it for granted but not him... The boy's expression was the same as his back when...

Ozpin let out a silent chuckle before he sighed and called out to the boy.

"Come now Mr. Arc, we have much to discuss."

"Huh? oh! right..."

Jaune noticed that he was getting left behind by the headmaster and scooted next to him.

The both of them enter a large hallway full of paintings of hunters and huntresses from the past.

Jaune was starry eyed. He had actually never been in the tower itself. He basically squee'd in the inside. All thoughts of being in trouble was overwritten with wonder and excitement.

The two of them arrive at the headmaster's office after a long elevator ride. Ozpin sat on his chair behind his desk and gestured Jaune to sit on the chair in front of him in which Jaune did so.

There was silence for a long while. Jaune fidgeted at the awkwardness of the silence and the nervousness of the situation. He figured that first things first he needed to explain the debacle at the mess hall so he tried to reason his stance at the matter to the headmaster. But he was cut off when Ozpin began to speak.

"Mr. Arc, what do you know of Shinra?"

Jaune was somewhat confused by the question. What doe Shinra have to do with anything?

"W-what?..."

"Shinra, Mr. Arc, Shinra. What do you of it?"

Ozpin stared at Jaune, waiting for his answer.

"W-well from... what I learned from my p-...uhh..my previous combat school, Shinra used to be a powerful electric company. Back when mako energy was still used as a power source. But it was shut down due to illegal practices, dangers of Mako energy, the constant pollution of the air and the land, and endangerment of human life to name a few. Some are still speculation."

Ozpin raised a brow.

"Speculation? elaborate please."

Jaune felt uncomfortable when the man's gaze pierced him.

"Uhh...well some people say that they were also largely responsible for the great war 50 years ago... that they used to do unethical and inhumane experiments on faunus and humans. In fact there are conspiracies that it was Shinra who started the great war… but I don't really think that was true… I mean, Shinra ended 25 years ago… doesn't that mean Shinra existed for over 50 years? Maybe even more?"

Ozpin hummed before asking another question.

"Shinra didn't start out as a power company Mister Arc. It used to be a research and development Corporation... The name Shinra Power Electric Company only came during the great war's later years. People were desperate for a new source of energy other than Dust due to the ongoing war… So they turned to a more potent yet unstable power source..."

Jaune's eyes widened.

"Mako energy…" Jaune mumbled.

"And what do you know of the life stream?"

Jaune tilted his head.

'What does it have to do with anything?'

"It's the energy the flows beneath the planet. The energy of all living beings. Living or dead. My mom once told me that the Life stream contains the essence of the Planet and the memories, emotions, and knowledge of all who have lived on it. And my dad also told me that portions of the Life stream are used to create new life on the Planet, and the energy of a person returns to the Planet when they die, bringing with it the emotions, memories, and knowledge they obtained during life. So in a sense when a person dies, they're not really gone... I guess it's like the Planet's Aura."

Ozpin let out a 'hmm'. The headmaster then stood up and walked towards a counter. There he grabbed a mug and turned on the coffee machine. The machine buzzed as it prepared Ozpin's Coffee.

"You seem to be very well informed of Shinra and the Life stream Mr. Arc."

The coffee machine beeped and Ozpin poured the new brew of coffee into his mug before turning to Jaune.

"Then you must know about SOLDIER."

Jaune tilted his head slightly due to his confusion.

"Soldier?... like the military?"

"No. SOLDIER. Genetically enhanced hunters created through human experimentation."

Ozpin said as he walked back to his seat

"Genetically enhanced hunters?..."

Ozpin took a sip from his coffee.

"So you don't know... hmmm. Well your father was one of them... Presumably."

"My...father?"

Jaune turned pale upon the realization-

"Yes, Cloud Strife was... supposedly one of these SOLDIERs."

-that Ozpin had found out. Jaune was sweating. How? How did he find out? When?!

Ozpin took notice to the expression that the boy was making.

"Worry not mister Strife. I will not expel you from this school. You may of have faked your transcripts but you proved worthy of coming to Beacon back at the initiation."

What? Really?

"What? Really?" Jaune was taken aback. He got away with forging his transcripts?! He was sure that it was a felony to do that!

"You killed an incredibly dangerous grimm alone. I don't see why I can't let someone with a power like that become a huntsman."

Jaune let out a sigh of relief.

"Your fake name however... "

Jaune tensed up again.

"I can overlook forging your transcripts however pretending to be this... Arc, is another matter... which I am not going to deal with." Ozpin said nonchalantly before he sipped his coffee.

'WHAT?!' He screamed in his mind.

"What?" Calmly asked. Though he could not stop his eye from twitching.

"We will discuss about your circumstances later. We must first discuss about your... power." Ozpin took another sip.

"You mean my semblance?" Jaune asked.

"No. Your power. You're a SOLDIER Jaune. Or at least, turning into one."

"A SOLDIER? but I've never gone through any of that... stuff you just said a while ago."

"No. No you did not. But your father was. Your father was injected with... Special genetically modified Cells and Mako energy. And Somehow out of 8 children, you inherited it. I do not know why or how. But you did."

Jaune was speechless. He didn't exactly know what to say. Why didn't his parents tell him anything? they said that they were just freedom fighters...

"The pain you feel when you use your power. It's the power of a SOLDIER. A very powerful one at that. Only the strong can become SOLDIERs, that's why your body injures itself."

"But what about that Headache from earlier?"

"That was a rebound. You used your power earlier yet did not release it. Since you have no training as a SOLDIER, you have no control on the energy that they use. Hence it just kept boiling up until it burst out. What I did earlier was just me releasing a sudden burst of my Aura. It was enough to disperse the Mako energy. Luckily enough, at this time you're what's considered a 3rd class SOLDIER. The weakest... though still stronger than most hunters in training and enough to match a hunter in his prime."

Jaune stared at the professor. He wanted to ask about the dreams. Every few nights he would experience very lucid dreams. They all felt very real. They felt like memories. There was one thing in common in those dreams. The feeling of longing. And strange faint echoes that say 'reunion' from time to time.

But he could not. Something in him told him not to.

However this power could help him. It could help him help others. It could help him become a hero.

"What... what should I do?.. should I just train? From time to time I could feel my anger get the best of me. I wanna know how to control this and if I can use this to help people then all the better." Jaune spoke with determination.

Ozpin smiled.

"Yes. It does have a side effect of enhancing your emotions, instinct, and drive. What happened back at the mess hall was one such occasion. You felt the need to stop and protect the girl from Mr. Winchester. So your instinct to protect gave the impulse to stop him without any second thought whatever the cost. It varies from person to person, though with proper training this can be remedied. I will call in a friend to help train you. In the next few days he will arrive. I suggest you not to use your abilities for now to avoid any injury to yourself and others."

Jaune nodded.

"I also suggest that you withhold this information to anyone. Though if you do choose to reveal it to somebody… make sure it's someone you truly trust."

"The matter regarding your control over the energy inside you will be dealt with . She will train you to control both your aura and the mako energy that resides in you."

Jaune flinched. Glynda Goodwitch? As in THE Glynda Goodwitch? The Glynda Goodwitch that hung a couple of troublesome fourth years by their collar at the front entrance of the school? That Glynda Goodwitch?!

Ozpin took notice of the boy's reaction.

"Don't worry Mr. Strife. Glynda can be a little bit strict but she has a kind and gentle heart."

He paused.

"Probably. In any case, she really can help with your energy management."

Jaune nodded in response. He had to endure it if it means that he gets to use this power.

"That is all. You may go now Mr. Arc."

He was then dismissed by the headmaster however he stopped.

"What about what happened back at the cafeteria?"

"Hm? oh yes. I hereby give you 2 days of detention. You shall assist the Deputy Headmistress in sorting out her files."

"Just two days?"

"It was Mr. Winchester who hit you. Not you. Well if you want more days to be add-"

"Nonono! it's fine! 2 days is fine! Thank you Headmaster!"

Jaune bowed before he left.

Ozpin smirked at the boy before he pulled out his scroll.

"Qrow? I have an assignment for you."

/0/

"Wew... this is alot to take in." Jaune said to himself as he strolled through the pathway to the Cafeteria. Truth be told, he was terrified. The revelation about his parents made him remember his parents' adamant approach in preventing him from becoming a huntsman. Was this why they prevented him from chasing his dreams? It didn't help that he suspected that the headmaster was still keeping a lot from him. And those things he said about Shinra…. Were those rumors really just rumors?

Human and Faunus experimentation… genetically enhanced hunters… why would Shinra even need genetically enhanced hunters?

No. It made sense… there had to be people- Hunters who fought against Shinra. If the rumors were true then there would've been a huge backlash due to the abuse of humans and Faunus alike.

A rebellion… a rebellion…

The White fang was created during the Great War…. Was the white fang created because of Shinra?

That's right… he always wondered why the white fang symbol was so familiar… it had reminded him Nanaki.

When he first met Nanaki, he was actually quite terrified. He was, after all, a talking red dog-cat thing… his parents just told him to not ask and whenever he would tell his friends back when he was still a kid, they would scoff and dismiss it… well except for that one girl with the cute beret… Nanaki was the kind of… err...person to sympathize the Faunus and how they were treated. He had told Jaune that his race was also persecuted that way or if any, much worse...

Could it be that the White fang was created by Nanaki?

But the current news these days were that the White fang was at odds against the World Regenisis Organization…

Almost all of his uncles and aunties worked there. Old Nanaki would never go against the WRO…

The World Regenisis Organization was created after the great war but was disbanded only when the world finally settled down…

Though some conspiracy theorists speculated that something must have happened since it was the time Shinra truly rose to power…

It was only resurrected after the fall of Shinra and is now an organization dedicated to helping people. They often hire hunters and soldiers to utilize in rescue operations as well as frontier management. The WRO would help one constructing as well as aiding new villages. In a nutshell, the WRO was a taskforce.

They were also officially sanctioned as the ones that regulate the missions Hunters take. So WRO created the WHA.

The World Hunters Association was created to regulate and register hunters.

More often than not, hunters tended to become rogues and deserters.

The Kingdoms could not control every single Huntsman out there so they resorted to a third party to help handle them.

They even have a facility in every village and towns all around Remnant.

Heck back at Argent he would often sneak out and head to the town's Hunter Association to watch Hunters and Huntresses come and go. He was promptly grounded by his mother when he was found out.

Still.

They were a force of good.

What happened? What happened to the two of them?

…. No.

It can't be. The white fang is a terrorist organization so it made sense that the WRO would go against them especially since the white fang decided to Raid small human town's outside the walls and sabotage anything related to the Schnee dust company.

The Schnee Dust company… The white fang…

Shinra… The freedom fighters...

Jaune couldn't help but notice the similarities… though he knew that Avalanche was fighting for the planet while the white fang supposedly fought for the Faunus...

Now that he thought about it. His uncle, Barret, would tell him stories about Avalanche. A freedom fighter group that single handedly destroyed Shinra. A group in which his parents were apart of. If that were the case… shouldn't they be famous now? Why is dad still a regular Huntsman and Mom was still a barmaid? There was no mention of them in any history book at all. All he could find out about Avalanche were some old newspaper clippings on Old man Cid's airship when his family sometimes comes to visit the old coot and his family for a Vacation at Costa del Sol.

Shinra...SOLDIER…

Why would his parents hide something like this from him? Was turning into a SOLDIER really that bad? He could help people with this power! He could be a Hero like his dad!... yet.. why were they afraid? would training really help him control it? would those really help him control those...urges?

Jaune sighed as he was lost in his thoughts.

It was night now. The cold night breeze was pleasant. It was already past dinner time. He got a message from Ozpin saying that he notified the kitchen staff to prepare a quick meal to him. He wanted to thank him properly however, out of habit. He sent a 'K thx' to the headmaster. He promptly slapped his forehead after that. He then messaged His team, Ruby and Yang saying that he was okay and told them about the details of his punishment leaving out the part about him being a 2nd generation super couldn't get a hold on either Weiss and Blake since Weiss refused to just give out her personal information and Blake… well they never really got to talk much. They see each other from time to time at the library though they only engage in small talk before they both get lost in their reading material.

Still though… he couldn't calm down… maybe he was just hungry…

He decided to hurry to the cafeteria to go get his dinner.

/0/

Blake sat comfortably on a beanbag in the library. She liked the reading area a lot since there was noone to interrupt her.

The Ninjas of Love series was her favorite book. A romance about a kunoichi and a Ronin samurai. She loved it… even though some criticizes it for it's...rather raunchy situations. She swore to the gods that it was not smut. She would hiss at anybody who would dare call this masterpiece as such.

She sighed and closed her book however.

Her thoughts right now were somewhere else. She could not focus on the book.

What happened earlier left an impression on her.

Jaune… that goofy, awkward teenager just stood up to Cardin Winchester… the son of the School's director. He could have been expelled then and there. He stood up against him for a bunny Faunus whom he has never met before. For a brief moment she could see what Adam used to be… uncaring for authority and standing up for what was right even at the cost of losing his freedom. A hero amongst the oppressed Faunus.

Adam… her former lover...

...though.. for a moment… she could also see the new Adam in Jaune… and it somewhat… made her nervous.

When Jaune was hit, she swore she could see a shadow of Adam casted behind him. Even that time back at the initiation. It made her nervous and on guard around him. She almost jumped to stop Jaune when she thought that he was gonna kill the bully right there on the spot, something the new Adam would do. Don't get her wrong… she would've killed the bully herself if she didn't have self control. But much to her surprise it didn't happen. Instead Jaune just took it without even raising a hand. At that point she reminded herself that Jaune was Jaune… he's no Adam… and that made her smile a bit.

Maybe they could be friends… gods know that she needs more of those. It was unhealthy to just have acquaintances instead of friends. He after all liked books like her. That'd give them something to talk about.

But… What if he finds out about her past?

She frowned before she stood up and grabbed all her things and kept it in her bag.

After that she exited the library. The cool night breeze was pleasant. It was already 9:00 pm. Almost time for curfew.

"It's a nice night tonight…"

Blake said as she looked up to the starry sky and the shattered moon.

The campus was almost empty. The few students that she could see were now heading for the dorms. At first she thought of just get there using the regular route through the school building… but she has always liked a night stroll. So she took the scenic route. Beacon was surrounded by a myriad of small gardens and miniature parks to accommodate the stressful lifestyle of a hunter that also acts as a scenic route to the different buildings. People would often use the parks as a place to relax during the day and used as a dating spot during the night.

She wondered if she would spot a couple in the parks in this time of night. Maybe a bold couple here and there exchanging kisses. However there were none. It was surprisingly empty.

A normal girl would feel nervous in this situation however she isn't some normal girl.

It was incredibly calming… the sounds of crickets chirping, the leaves rustling in the wind… it was almost therapeutic. It wasn't until she saw a familiar figure that she stopped in her tracks and hid behind a tree out of reflex.

She peeked behind the tree to see a familiar white haired boy sitting on a bench with his legs spread and his arms resting on them. He was looking at the ground and looked like he was deep in thought.

Was the punishment for standing up to Cardin really that bad?

She continued to watch the boy for a while, still pondering whether she should approach him or not.

Blake Belladonna was not a social butterfly. Not that she has a problem with it. She prefered it like that.

Jaune Arc was the only person in her circle of friends who liked books like her. They often talked here and there.

He treated her like a friend and she treated him like one as well.

And right now she was a little bit worried about her friend.

She sighed.

But what could she do? What could she say?

Comforting others was not her forte. Her years in the White Fang had hardened her. She was an accomplished assassin back when she was still under Adam's wing, the only words of comfort Adam told her were just…"Good Job." and "For our people".

She knew that those weren't words of comfort… she just made herself think of it as one.

It was sad. Painful. Cold.

Truth be told she doubted that she'll ever have a second chance in life. But here she was. Back when she first entered the school, she swore that she would change…

"Blake?"

She was startled when the boy called out. She turned her head to the boy who was now aware of her.

Thier eyes met.

"What are you doing here?..." He asked.

Blake contemplated whether she should answer him or not.

She sighed.

' _Couldn't hurt to talk for a bit I guess...'_

Blake revealed herself in full view before replying to him.

"I was just night strolling… I could ask the same to you."

Jaune smiled a little bit.

"Ah well...just thinking about stuff."

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Ah it's nothing much… just thought about family and that stuff back at the cafeteria… "

There was no lie in those words. Though it felt like he wasn't telling her the full story.

Blake approached the bench and sat beside him but not before she made sure to leave a bit of space to avoid some misunderstandings. She figured since she had already started this, might as well just continue on.

"Was the punishment really that bad?" Blake asked.

"What? oh no, the punishment was actually quite lax than anything. Just two days worth of detention with Ms Goodwitch." Jaune answered.

"Then why are you looking all… well… depressed?"

Jaune pondered for a moment. Thinking whether he should tell her or not.

"I just… found something out that bothered me… " He gave a vague answer.

He had the look of someone who didn't want to talk about something. Whatever Jaune was thinking, it was very personal. This made Blake awkward though she didn't show it and just stared out into the distance.

"Back at the cafeteria… you helped that bunny girl even though you didn't know her. Why?"

Blake asked as she looked at him.

"I just had to. Everyone was clearly bothered by it, yet no one was doing anything about it. Furthermore it was just plain disgusting and wrong. Who would treat another person like that?"

Blake smiled and nodded. As sad as it may be people actually don't usually refer to faunus as a person. It genuinely made her happy inside though she tried to hide it.

"Then why are you all… stressed out about it?"

"You know about my 'semblance' right?"

Blake nodded.

"Ren was right. It renders me … no it practically turns me into a different kind of person."

"It can't be that bad."

"Oh no… trust me, it is. Well Ozpin…" He stopped. He almost let it slip.

He sighed.

"It's… it's really complicated."

Blake's eyes widened. She knew about his semblance when the two groups talked about what had happened back at the initiation. So this is why…

He was scared. Ren had a theory that his semblance's negative effects involved turning him into a … well a stone cold person. Like her when she was an assassin.

"You're afraid that you'll hurt somebody with your semblance?..."

Jaune nodded.

"Ozpin told me that I just needed training to control it... "

"Then why-"

"I… just don't think training is enough. And with the things I found out about..."

He turned away from blake and returned to watching the ground below. Again he almost let it slip.

"I wanted to make Cardin suffer."

Blake's eyes widened.

"I know that Cardin is an asshole but… me wishing him to suffer? I want him punished not suffer .It… just wasn't me."

"At first I thought that it would be pretty useful.I could help people with it. But what if I lose control over it and it overtakes me? What if I hurt the people close to me?..."

Jaune put his hands on his face due to his frustration.

"It doesn't matter Jaune…"

"What?" Jaune perked up.

"I know that it wasn't like that… Because I saw the whole thing." She paused.

"When you were confronting Cardin. We all saw your semblance activate. Blue eyes turning green isn't exactly hard to notice. You held your ground there Jaune. Even if you were hit. If it were me, I'd have already retaliated. It takes a lot of self control to do that."

Blake put a hand on his cheek and turned his head towards hers as she gave him a delicate smile.

"Not many people can do what you did Jaune… Of the two instances that you used your semblance, it was to protect somebody. … Sure you may become into just that… but you're still you. You may have urges but you can control them. You just need to be careful. Jaune.. what you did back there impressed me..."

Jaune mouth was agape with surprise. He looked at Blakes beautiful amber eyes… he never really noticed it that much.. but her little smile was beautiful.

Blake flinched when she realized that she was still staring into his blue eyes. She blushed and let go of him. Briefly coughing to compose herself.

"J-just don't let it take over you… "

' _What am I doing?...'_

There was a brief silence between the two of them. The two of them were embarrassed as to what just happened earlier.

"Thanks Blake… I needed that… Still… I'll have to be careful for now. I don't have that much control over it."

Blake turned to see him smiling at her. She also smiled at him.

"You know, this is actually the first time we had a proper conversation other than small talk."

"I'm not really the type to initiate conversation. This time is just an exception." Blake reasoned as she shifted in her seat to try to get comfortable.

"Plus, you never really did initiate conversation as well." Blake continued.

"Heh… yeah.. well not really..." Jaune scratched the back of his head.

Blake raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Oh trust me, I tried a couple of times… though all of them just ended up being small talk."

Blake tried to remember. That's right, he did try to talk to her often.

' _Wait… you mean those overused things like 'nice weather we're having' were him trying to talk to me?!'_

"Pfft…" Blake held back a laugh by turning away while putting a hand on her mouth.

"What?" Jaune looked at her confused.

"Next time Jaune, don't start a conversation with 'nice weather we're having'."

Blake smiled, now she knew that he was not totally ignoring her.

"Why not?"

"Just don't… trust me."

Jaune smiled.

"I don't really get it. But okay."

"So… Nice weather we're-"

Blake slapped the back of his head. It didn't hurt him though, since he had aura like all of the students here.

"Okay okay...I deserved that… haha."

Blake smirked.

"By the way… what did you put in the bowl that you dumped Cardin with? I could practically smell it from across the cafeteria." Blake asked. The food that Jaune dumped on Cardin was one of the smelliest things she had ever smelt. She doubted it could even be called food.

"Oh that? Well I just grabbed any left over food and dumped it into one bowl…. I think one of those was some left over kimchi."

"Gross…" She winced.

"You gotta admit. The kimchi was a nice touch." Jaune smirked.

Blake rolled her eyes and chuckled.

The of them talked a bit more, though this time more on mundane stuff. Blake enjoyed the most of it. Jaune would often make a joke and she would also often laugh.

Their conversation only got heated when Jaune mentioned that he also liked the Ninjas of Love series.

They even debated a story arc where the main male character: Akatsuki, was captured by a band of female Pirates and that the main female character: Aoi was tasked to save him.

Jaune said that the story arc seemed kind of forced but Blake rebutted when she said that it was just a filler arc so it wasn't meant to be serious. The female pirates weren't really a match for the kunoichi. Still Jaune wondered why the arc dragged too long. Blake actually liked that arc because they showed Akatsuki-sama's more… intimate side when the two characters finally met. She hissed when Jaune said that it felt cliched and that it had already been done on volume 2. They argued sometimes but they both had fun talking to each other.

They only stopped when both their scrolls buzzed at the same time.

They both looked at each other and answered at the same time.

"WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?!"

They both forgot that scrolls had a video call feature and it seemed that both their teams had the same idea.

On Blake's scroll, it showed Weiss, Ruby, and Yang. Weiss looked furious, Ruby looked worried, while Yang just smiled and waved.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?!" Weiss yelled.

"We were so worried! where are you Blake?!" Ruby pushed Weiss off the camera.

"You out partying? I'm disappointed. You shoulda brought me along!"

However they all went silent with widened eyes when they saw who was beside her.

meanwhile on Jaune's scroll, it showed a concerned yet angry Pyrrha, a still energetic Nora and an Indifferent Ren.

"Where have you been?! Do you know how worried we were?!" Pyrrha asked angrily.

"See? I told you he was fine!" Nora cheered happily.

"I never doubted. How was the visit to the headmasters...office…" Ren's voice trailed off when he looked at the person beside Jaune.

Soon enough the rest of team JNPR took notice… especially Pyrrha.

Jaune and Blake looked at each other.

"It's nothing like that." They both said at the same time.

Both teams were speechless.

The two of them just shrugged and decided to just explain it personally to their teams.

However Jaune had asked to keep his problem with his semblance a secret since Pyrrha would go ballistic with worry.

Blake understood and agreed.

As they walked towards the dorms, Blake spoke.

"Why did you tell me all of that?"

Jaune looked at Blake for a moment before answering.

"I guess...I just needed someone to talk to. I'm glad that it was you though. It was really eating me up."

Blake blushed a little bit.

"Why not Pyrrha? She's you partner after all. What about Ruby or Yang? you seem pretty close."

Jaune pondered for a moment.

"hmm… well Pyrrha's too overprotective, Ruby would get worried and Yang is… now that I think about it, I don't really know how Yang would react."

Blake nodded.

"And the rest of your team?"

Again Jaune pondered.

"I dunno… maybe they would be fine.. but I think they'll rat me out to Pyrrha... they may not look like it but the three of them are pretty close."

Blake let out a hum and a nod.

"Make sense…"

She remembered her mother's words back when she was still a child.

 _'Friendship starts with trust…'_

Jaune trusted her… she couldn't lie. It made her happy.

Maybe she could show him her ears…

She pondered.

 _'no… it's too early…'_

Nonetheless she was still happy.

/0/

Jaune felt somewhat at peace with himself because of what Blake had said. Though he did not tell her most of what was plaguing his mind, she still somewhat helped him ease up.

When they both arrived at the dorms, they saw their teams waiting at the lobby.

Weiss and Pyrrha had their arms crossed.

Ruby looked like she was in shock.

Yang just grinned widely. No doubt concocting hundreds of ways to tease them.

Ren was somewhat indifferent.

Nora was waving at them with a big smile.

Jaune and Blake tried their best to explain the situation. How they bumped into each other and how they both lost track of time. With a few lies here and there to avoid any misunderstanding.

Blake was now certain though that Jaune was a very bad liar. Most of what he said was taken out of context.

She had to intervene a couple of times.

At the end both teams accepted their explanation. Though it most likely just because it was already getting late and everyone was tired.

Both teams went back to their rooms after saying goodbye to each other.

Jaune looked at Blake's back as the door of team RWBY closes. However he suddenly turned away blushing when Blake turned and peeked at her side.

Blake saw Jaune stammer before hurryingly closing the door.

That night, though the things that was revealed today was still in his mind, he was somewhat happy that he got to at least let out some of his worries.

Across the hall, Blake laid down on her back, thinking about what happened tonight. Blake was actually happy that she now has someone to talk to… well someone who has the same tastes as her… and that someone put their trust in her.

Maybe it was not too late for her.

Her mind went to the time that they talked a lot about things...

'It was nice…' She said in her thoughts as her eyes drifted to sleep.

/0/

Yang and Pyrrha clashed in the arena. The crowd cheered as Sword and Shield clashed against Ballistic Gauntlets.

Everyone was at awe at what they were. witnessing right now.

Yang was currently trying to break Pyrrha's guard using some exploding shells with her Gauntlets however Pyrrha's defences were impregnable. Pyrrha's Aura was still on the green zone, though a considerable amount was missing, while Yang's was already in the orange zone.

As soon as Yang ran out of explosive shells, Pyrrha went on the offensive. Yang didn't have time to reload as Pyrrha started her onslaught. Yang tried desperately to counter attack. Blocking a swing with a punch. She should've had the advantage because she had two weapons. However Pyrrha also used her shield not only as a defensive tool but also a weapon. The edges of the shield damaged her while the constant shield bashes staggered her.

Yang was no slouch in keeping her balance, but getting hit with that shield was like getting hit with a truck.

Everyone watched as Yang get pummeled by Pyrrha, her fans were cheering her on as Pyrrha's did as well.

However this was all according to plan

She grinned as she jumped away from Pyrrha.

"You're going down P-Money!" She said as she bumped her fists together. As soon as her fists connected her hair suddenly flared up. Literally.

The people from the seats could literally feel the heat radiate from her.

Yang launched herself at Pyrrha, however Pyrrha sidestepped, making Yang miss her mark. The crowd however was in awe as Yang landed her punch to the ground and created a huge crater.

Yang began her onslaught again as she let out multiple war cries each swing.

Pyrrha though, was just dodging. She wasn't countering. She just dodged and dodged.

"STAND YOUR GROUND AND FIGHT!"

Yang yelled as her rage was fuelled by her semblance.

Then as if listening to Yang. Pyrrha stopped dead in her track and stared down the enraged brawler.

Yang smirked.

"That's more like it."

Yang launched herself towards Pyrrha.

Pyrrha ran towards Yang head on.

The crowd watched with bated breath as it seemed that the two of them were going for a head-on collision.

Yang grinned maniacally as she was closing in on Pyrrha.

3...

2...

1…

Just as soon as she was about to hit Pyrrha. Pyrrha suddenly slid down to her sides with her sword up, hitting Yang's underside causing her stumble to the ground.

The buzzer sounded in the background. Signaling the end of the fight.

Yang rolled to the ground as the weight of her punch and Pyrrha's sword made her lose her balance. Pyrrha used her sword to stop her skidding. She then saw Yang on the ground and in pain.

She ran towards her side.

Yang groaned as her body ached.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

Pyrrha's said as she knelt beside Yang.

"Yep... Never better. You never pull any punches do you?" Yang said as she gave her a thumbs up and smiled.

Pyrrha's breathed a sigh of relief but was startled when the crowd around them went wild.

Glynda Goodwitch then entered the ring.

"Are you alright miss Xiao Long?"

Yang flashed a smile as Pyrrha helped her stand up

"Yep. Good fight Pyr." She said turning to Pyrrha.

Yang wasn't mad. She was no sore loser. Pyrrha afterall was the strongest of all the first years… heck maybe even the whole school. Yang was just glad that she gave her her best. It was a good fight.

Glynda nodded.

"Well then, do you know why you lost to ?"

Yang pondered for a moment, putting her hand on her and on her chin.

"Other than that Pyrrha's a damn good fighter?"

Glynda sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

She then turned towards the students as she turned on the mic.

"Miss Xiao Long lost because she let her emotions get the best of her. Her anger gave her too many openings as well as expend too much energy on predictable attacks. As you may have witnessed, Miss Nikos used that weakness and exploited it."

She paused.

"Be it a lesson students. Do not let your emotions distract you. Or it will cost you your lives."

Yang understood and nodded. She knew that it was her weakness. But it wasn't her fault! It was her semblance!

The crowd clapped and cheered as they exited the arena.

Yang waved at her fans while Pyrrha, who was used to it, Just simply bowed.

They both returned to their seats and were meeted with an excited Ruby and Jaune. The rest of their teams also congratulated them though not compared to the swordsman and the reaper.

"That was incredible!" They both exclaimed.

The two of them were taken aback.

"That was amazing Pyr! You're totally on another level!" Jaune commented.

Pyrrha's blushed.

"Thanks Jaune…"

"Hey no compliments for moi?" Yang joked.

"You were incredible too. Guess I owe Ruby five lien then."

"Yep Yep! You were awesome sis! You almost had her!"

Yang scratched her nose.

"Still wasn't enough though. Pyr's defences we're very tough to crack"

"Don't be like that Yang. I actually struggled during the bout. You're very good. Not many can last that long." Pyrrha's said as she looked at Yang.

"…. Wait what did you say about a bet?" Yang looked at Jaune and Ruby.

"We're you two betting on who's going to lose?!"

"What?! No! Of course not! Ruby just said that you were going to wreck the arena. I disagreed of course so we made a small wager."

"Yep yep! 'Five lien says Yang destroys the arena'" Ruby agreed and confirmed.

"Wait so Vomit Boy here was making light of me?" She raised an eyebrow at Jaune.

Jaune hid behind Ruby with a yelp.

Yang laughed.

"Relax Jaune. I'm just messing with ya."

Jaune gave out an awkward laugh.

"Oh! Miss Goodwitch's already done with fixing up the arena."

Ruby said as she noticed Glynda walking into the middle of the arena.

/0/

The arena was packed. Students from different year levels came to watch the freshmen's mock tournament. Even some of the teachers came, including the headmaster himself. Jaune didn't think that it was this big of a deal. He speculated that the reason was that Pyrrha Nikos was part of the freshmen. Though he could not miss a few students eyeing team RWBY as well. All three of team RWBY won their respective battles as did the rest of team JNPR. Jaune was the only one that hasn't fought yet.

Believe or not, the first year classes were actually suspended for the day for this occasion.

Jaune was nervous as Glynda approached the center of the arena. Only a few students were left to fight. Including him.

"Settle down students." she spoke into the microphone.

She waited for them to settle down before she continued.

"The last remaining students, please come to the ringside."

Jaune gulped before standing up. He looked around and saw 7 others more stand up… including Cardin Winchester. Cardin noticed Jaune looking at him so he repaid him with a glare.

The remaining 8 fighters got to their equipment and headed to the Ringside.

Jaune was currently wearing his black undershirt with his breastplate, pauldron, and armguards strapped on. He ditched the coat for now since it was too hot to move in. He was actually one of the few armored up people in this school. Most tended to just rely on Aura to protect them.

8 fighters lined up to hear what Glynda had to say.

"This last bout will be an a free-for-all. You eight will fight each other and who comes out the top wins. Tournament rules still apply and dust is allowed for use."

Before he could say something Cardin spoke out.

"I request a one on one duel." Cardin said with a serious look.

Everyone in the room was surprised.

Glynda hummed.

"And why is that?"

Cardin crossed his arms and looked at Jaune. To which Jaune glared back.

"To settle things."

Glynda sighed. The mock tournament was already dragging on. They started 9 pm this morning and it was now 3 pm in the afternoon.

"I'm sorry Mr. Winchester but-"

She tried to decline the boy but was cut off when Ozpin came in and intervened.

"I sanction it."

Glynda was surprised- no, startled.

"But Ozpin!"

She tried to reason with Ozpin.

"I take it you'd like a one on one bout with Mister Arc?"

Cardin nodded.

Ozpin turned to Jaune.

" Do you accept?"

Jaune pondered. He looked at his friends back at the seats to see them give him a worried look.

Jaune sighed. It'll only get worse if he didn't accept.

"I do."

/0/

Everyone watched as the two fighters walked to opposite sides of the arena. There was intense discussion among the spectators.

Among the crowds Velvet Scarlatina was one of them. She watched Jaune enter the arena with a look of worry.

She could feel her heart beat faster due to fear for the boy.

She put her hands together and prayed.

She closed her eyes.

Her mind went to a flashback...

During their childhood, Jaune was never the fighter.

Back then, the White Fang had just began to become an extremist organization so the tensions on humans and the white fang were high.

At the age of 11, she used to sell flowers at a park in Argent to help her family cope. Her father had died during an incident at Atlas so that left her and her four siblings to their own.

Back then she was very distrustful and full of hate. She blamed the humans for killing her father. The constant propaganda of demonizing humans by the White Fang helped with that.

True enough, the human children at Argent bullied her for their entertainment. Even the beret that her father gave her didn't help. They all knew that she was a Faunus. The few people that passed turned a blind eye. It didn't help that fact that these kids stalked an empty alleyway that was the only way she could take from her house.

One day, she couldn't handle the bullying anymore. As the day started, she picked the usual flowers to put in her basket but this time, she had a knife. She hid her knife in the basket. She went to the usual selling spot in the town but to sell flowers there was not her only objective. She stopped at the alleyway where she always took. It was quiet and looked scary but it was the only way from her house to the park.

She'll show them.

She'll make them pay.

She waited. Soon enough the children came. They all smirked at her and looked at her like she was some stay animal. She trembled as her hand reached for the knife. However-

"Heeeey! What are you doing?!"

A white haired boy suddenly got in between the bullies and the girl.

Her eyes widened with surprise. She thought that he saw her reach for her knife but no… instead the boy's back was facing her. He was protecting her.

"What do you want, Jaune?" The older bully snarled.

"What are you doing to this girl?!" Jaune said angrily.

"What's it to you nerd?" another bully snarled.

"I won't allow you to hurt her!" Jaune stood proudly. Though she could see that he was trembling. The way he tried to hide was somewhat adorable.

"This is none of your business dweeb, why don't you go back to your mommy. We got business with this filthy anima-"

"Don't you dare call her that!" Jaune snarled.

The bullies flinched as Jaune yelled.

Velvet's eyes widened.

The bullies were enraged. Soon enough the bullies began to beat up Jaune. He tried to fight back, landing a couple of hits and kicks to no avail. The bullies we're just a little bit stronger than him.

Jaune was now on the ground. The older bully kicked him in the stomach. He clutched his stomach where the bully hit.

Velvet snapped out of her shock.

"Stop! Please stop!"

She ran fell to his side clutching him in her arms with tears in her eyes.

Jaune was bloodied and bruised.

"Why you…" the older bully gritted his teeth. He raised his foot.

Velvet braced herself.

However it did not come.

She opened her eyes to see Jaune holding the bully's foot. She didn't notice him stand up from her clutch.

Jaune pulled the boy's foot up causing the bully to fall on his butt.

The bully looked up to see a glaring Jaune.

"Don't...you dare…" he said in between breaths.

Jaune's face was bruised and bloody.

It creeped the bully out.

Soon enough people started to gather. The three bullies looked around nervously.

Three older kids faced of with a bloodied younger boy and a girl kneeling on the ground, crying. It didn't take a genius to figure out what this was.

"Tch! scatter!"

The older kids scattered and ran away. Jaune fell and sat on his butt.

Velvet hesitated to approach him. She was scared. Of course she was scared. He was beat up because of her!

But he did also save her.

She looked at him one more time.

The boy noticed this.

The boy gave her a toothy grin. That was then she didn't think twice to hug him and start to bawl on his shoulder. Because someone had saved her. Because someone protected her. Because someone prevented her from committing a huge mistake. She cried.

It was there that they had met each other.

They introduced themselves.

He was Jaune, she was Velvet. After that she kept crying and calling him an idiot for doing something like that where he just smiled and laughed it off while rubbing her head. He must've thought that he was the older one back then since he was pretty tall. They talked with each other a lot after that.

He said that he was just on his way to see the hunters.

Turns out, he was a big Hunter fan. Velvet was surprised when he suddenly grabbed her and pulled her towards some boxes that were put on an alleyway just beside the buildings adjacent to the town's Hunter Association.

She looked confused but he was starry eyed.

"There they are!"

Velvet looked towards the streets and saw people cheering on an oncoming group of people.

Impressive looking armor. Large weapons. A group of hunters and Huntresses paraded the streets of Argent. Behind them was a slowly dissolving carcass of an alpha Wyvern carried by a large dump truck.

Her eyes went wide as she saw that amongst the group, there were alot of Faunus with them… and they were hailed as heroes!

Jaune stated that this group had taken on a mission to save a neighboring town. And it seemed that they had succeeded.

There were others that had bandages on them but still they smiled and cheered.

That day a growing desire filled Velvet… the boy's admiration was contagious.

They both smiled at each other.

Soon the both of them spent time together for the majority of their free time along with some other kids that Jaune introduced.

They were only separated a year later when her mother decided to move to Menagerie.

The flashback ended.

She was now looking at the two hunters in training face off in a manner similar to old Vacuan Western.

"Please be alright…" she said under her breath.

/0/

"Tournament Rules still apply. Take your stances."

Glynda announced. The two take their combat stances. Cardin with mace, Jaune with a sword.

"Ready?"

The two tightened their grip on their weapons.

"Begin!"

As soon as the horn blared. Cardin ran towards Jaune with his mace up. As soon as he reached the boy he swing his mace down. However he missed.

Jaune backed away. He knew maces were anti-armor weapons, able to penetrate armor with sheer blunt force trauma.

Cardin kept swinging wildly at Jaune

Luckily the wind up time for such a weapon was slow due to its weight.

Jaune took the chance to slash at Cardin however his thick heavy armor deflected it.

Jaune gritted his teeth. He wasn't doing any damage to his opponent.

Another swing from Cardin's mace staggered him when he dodged. He feel to his back.

Cardin stood over Jaune and raised his mace overhead and then swung down.

Jaune got his bearings back and rolled to the side, the mace almost hitting him.

He quickly stood up and backed away from Cardin.

The two were now circling each other. Neither attacking.

Cardin was panting. He wasn't going to hit Jaune with his mace. He was too agile. So he opted to use the secondary feature to his weapon.

A mini rocket launcher built into the shaft of the mace.

He aimed at Jaune's feet and fired.

Jaune dodged but the explosion caused by the fire dust blew him to the sides.

Cardin used the opportunity to go to the incapacitated boy and used his mace like a golf club by swinging upwards.

"GAH!"

It hit Jaune. He flew to the other side of the arena.

The crowd let out an "ooh".

Cardin again used his rocket mace to fire another explosive shell on Jaune.

Jaune managed to dodge again by rolling to the side.

Cardin gritted his teeth and stomped his way to Jaune while raising his mace.

Jaune knelt to the ground weezing. His Aura and armor could not do anything to the blunt force that connected from earlier.

Cardin was now close to the boy. As he was about to swing down his mace, Jaune suddenly threw a freeze grenade at his face.

His face now had a thin layer of ice. His eyes and nose were frozen, luckily his mouth hadn't. He tried desperately to remove the ice.

Jaune used the chance to strike at the unprotected joints of his armor.

Cardin let out a grunt, signifying that his attacks were doing damage. He swung sideways to try to get the swordsman get away from him while he tore off the ice from his face.

Just as soon as the last bits of ice fell Cardin looked to Jaune only to see a fist coming right to his face.

"Argh!"

It connected. Cardin however was just staggered… he angrily glared at the swordsman after that punch.

Jaune right now could feel the power build up inside him, however he kept shaking his head to try to prevent it from taking over him. His mind went to Blake's words…

 _'out of the two times you used your semblance… it was to protect somebody…'_

He took those words to heart. He made a silent vow to only use that power so save people….

Jaune put a hand to his forehead, his instinct was screaming at him to use the power…

"No!" Jaune punched himself.

The crowd looked in confusion as to what happened.

After that, Jaune's nose bled but now had a look of resolve in his eyes.

Cardin was surprised and dazed for a moment there. However returned to his stance when Jaune stared him down.

Jaune threw a few more freeze grenades at Cardin but Cardin expected this.

Cardin blocked the non lethal grenades with his forearm and slowly approached Jaune. Only to be stopped when Jaune began throwing the grenades at his feet.

"Useless! Did you think those things could stop me?"

He said to Jaune and he just ripped out his foot from the thin ice that formed on his feet.

The grenades were used to detain criminals… not huntsmen.

"It wasn't meant to stop you."

Cardin now realized that his limbs were now very heavy to move.

Jaune now threw a few more at his mace arm. The ice sticking onto his hand and arm.

It became harder to use as the weight increased.

Jaune ran towards him with his sword.

As Jaune was close enough Cardin swung down his mace only to miss when Jaune jumped back at the last minute.

The mace was too heavy to lift properly so he was open. Jaune used the chance to direct a flurry of blows to his head. However Cardin blocked the hits with his frozen arm.

The sword effectively chipped away the ice, Letting Cardin use his arm.

Jaune was startled. Cardin used his free arm to grab Jaune's neck and throw him to the ground.

He positioned the heavy mace to Jaune's neck and proceeded to pummel him.

The crowd let out disgusted groans and Cardin pummeled Jaune's face.

The barrage of punches only ending when the buzzer sounded…. Signifying the end of the match.

Cardin stood up and looked down at the incapacitated boy. Bruised and bloody.

"THERE! YOU SEE! YOU FUCKING SEE! I'M THE STRONGER ONE HERE! ME! SO DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!"

He snapped at Jaune and yelled for everyone to hear.

He heard Jaune mumbled something.

"You say something, bitch?"

Jaune sat up painfully.

"I said… I know that you're stronger than me."

Cardin scoffed and smirked. But Jaune continued.

"So why… why are you using that strength to harass people?! Shouldn't you use that strength to help people?! You're training to be a goddamn hunter aren't you?!"

Jaune yelled.

Cardin was taken aback.

Jaune slowly stood up and wiped some blood of his lip.

"What did you train for Cardin? DID YOU TRAIN TO BECOME A HUNTER JUST TO WASTE THAT STRENGTH TO HARASS PEOPLE?! WHAT CARDIN?! WHAT?!"

The people in the arena were silent.

"You know NOTHING ABOUT ME ARC! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW!"

"You're right… I don't know anything about you...you clearly have issues… but you think harassing the innocent Faunus students in this school would fix that?"

Cardin went silent for a moment…

"Fucking Faunus sympathizer…" Cardin said under his breath.

He wanted to say something but Ozpin and Glynda finally came to intervene.

"That's enough now… "

Glynda got in between the both of them.

Team RWBY and the rest of team JNPR could no longer hold themselves. They jumped into the arena and ran towards Jaune's side.

Cardin cursed under his breath and just angrily walked away from the arena.

He looked at the seats to see the audience were now glaring at them.

He ignored them and just went to the lockers.

/0/

Jaune stood painfully on the ring. He was leaning on his Partner's side and Ruby was checking his injuries. The rest looked very worried on Jaune's state.

Glynda watched as the boy was taken care of by his friends. Clearly he had good allies. She nodded to both teams and told them to go to the infirmary and get Jaune some treatment. Ozpin was currently away talking to the troubled teen.

The mock tournament continued but the fights did not compare to the fight between the mace wielder and the swordsman.

And so the mock tournament ended.

/0/

Jaune right now was currently being scolded by his friends in the infirmary.

"Why did you use your semblance?!" Screamed Ruby.

"You could've had him if you'd just used it!" She continued.

"I agree with Ruby." Pyrrha glared at Jaune.

"Same here… that was incredibly stupid vomit boy." Yang said with her arms crossed.

"I don't understand why you refused to use your semblance, Jaune. Sure may not be able to control it properly but this was something serious. You almost got seriously hurt." Pyrrha rubbed his cheek with a sympathetic look.

Jaune looked to the rest of his team. They all had worried and angry looks on their faces. Ruby looked like she had been crying.

"I-...I'm sorry I made you guys worry… it's … just… "

Jaune sighed.

"I need to get stronger… stronger so that I can use this power properly. Last night I made a vow to only use this power to save… to protect. Not to attack." Jaune gave a quick glance to Blake.

"Until then.. I'm gonna have to avoid using my p- semblance… please understand…"

He bowed his head down for his friends' approval.

The teams both looked at each other.

Ren looked unsure, while others, namely Pyrrha and Ruby, looked like they wanted to decline. Surprisingly, it was Yang, Blake and Nora who accepted it.

"Our semblances are kind of alike so I get it. But try to be careful next time alright, Vomit boy? I won't forgive you if you make Ruby cry."

Ruby blushed.

"Yeah! I mean I get it too! Did you know that I once destroyed an entire inn by an accident? Ren gave me lots of training after that. Jaune-Jaune a powerful semblance is really kind of scary at first but over time you'll get used to it. So don't sweat it K? But I won't forgive you if you do another stunt like that again." Nora added.

Blake put a hand on his shoulder and smiled… before she pulled on his ear. Jaune let out a cry of pain before she let go.

" That's for making us worry."

Yang snickered.

Soon enough the rest had began to soften up.

Then there was a knock on the door.

The door opened and a pair of bunny ears poked out. Soon enough her whole head poked out.

"I...is he alright?"

"Velvet!" They all, except for Jaune, yelled.

"Velvet?..."

Jaune's eyes went wide…

' _It can't be… I mean sure she looked familiar..but..'_

The skittish girl went inside after she closed the door and walked towards a wide eyed Jaune.

"Nice to see you again… Jaune.." the girl gave him an adorable smile with flushed cheeks.

Jaune was speechless.

"I… you're… wow…"

She had become gorgeous...

Velvet blushed as Jaune looked her up and and down.

Pyrrha coughed. And gave Jaune a dangerous smile.

Ruby just stared at him, however her eyes scared him.

The rest of them had questioning expressions and raised eyebrows.

Pyrrha was the first to speak.

"So… how do you know each other?"

Jaune gulped.

/0/

Tifa was silently cleaning a wine glass with a clean rug. The tavern was now in it's late hours nad had transformed into a bar. There were only a few people left. Some were drinking while others were just casually conversing.

The kids were currently asleep so she had all the time to think about things.

"Are you alright, Tiffa?"

a beautiful woman asked her.

She had chestnut brown hair that was tied to a single braid tied with a pink ribbon.

"I'm alright Marlene. Denzel still on his business meeting at WRO?"

Marlene nodded.

Marlene was still but a child when they all fought against Shinra. She was adopted by Barret after losing her parents at and incident on their hometown.

The girl was strong… even as a child she had helped Cloud and the others in different ways.

Tiffa chuckled.

Marlene grew up to be a strong and capable woman. She and Denzel married not long after Denzel graduated at the WRO medical university. Denzel worked as a medical specialist in the WRO while Marlene worked as an assistant to Reeve. She sometimes comes and visit Tifa and her family and help around.

"A busy week for him. But are you really alright though? We still have no news on Jaune…"Marlene looked at her with worry.

"I know."

Tifa sighed.

"But we're still looking."

"Do you know where Cloud currently is?" Marlene asked.

"He's currently scouring every combat school in Mistral. Jaune used to say that he wanted to learn to become a hunter… so we decided to search the schools…" Tifa replied.

Marlene nodded.

There was a moment of silence before Marlene spoke again.

"Should we be looking for him though?..."

Tifa looked at Marlene.

"Jaune always dreamed of becoming a hero. Yet all of us denied him of that…"

"Marlene what are you saying?"

"We all saw it when he was a kid. Jaune has a good heart. I doubt 'he' will have any influence in the boy."

Tifa looked at Marlene as if she was crazy.

Marlene sighed.

"Why not let him live his dream… sooner or later he'll call us. He's not some runaway delinquent. He's Jaune. He loves all of us."

Tifa put the wine glass on the counter. And scoffed.

"And what if he comes back changed? Hm? Do you think that what Sephiroth said was a joke?"

She paused.

" What if one day he comes back, with those terrible eyes, that indifferent expression whilst covered in blood hm? What then?"

Marlene back away for a bit.

"I-Im sorry.. I was just…" Marlene tried to apologize.

Tifa realized that she just snapped.

"n-no… I..I'm the one who should be saying sorry…"

Tifa put a hand on her forehead and wiped some tears that we're forming.

Marlene put a hand on her shoulder and tried to comfort her…

Unbeknownst to them that Anya was listening in on their conversation.

'Sephiroth?... Who's Sephiroth?' Anya wondered.

Just as Tifa began to relax again the tavern doors violently opened.

"Cloud..Where...ugh.. Cloud?"

Vincent was clutching his chest as he entered the the tavern struggling. The patrons looked in silence and fear.

"Vincent!"

The two girls yelled as they exited the counter and went to Vincent's side. Marlene went to get some medical supplies to treat him.

"What happened?" Tifa asked.

Vincent weezed.

Vincent only muttered a single word. And it made Tifa afraid to the core.

"Remnants…"

He muttered before he fell unconscious to the floor.

A sound of something dropping snapped Tifa back to reality. She turned around to see a terrified Marlene.

"..it … can't be…"

Tifa stood up and shook Marlene. Marlene snapped back from her shock.

"We need to call Cloud…"

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Phew~ that was alot. I hope you liked that. Alot of world building this Chapter. I really tried to connect both universes together.**_

 _ **So here are some notes:**_

 _ **-There used to be a rivalry between the SDC and Shinra**_

 _ **-Mako is readily available while Dust Crystals are hard to find.**_

 _ **-Just so you don't know... Ozpin is purposefully hiding some critical things about SOLDIER and their history.**_

 _ **-The white fang and the WRO are currently at odds with each other. Why ? Find out later on.**_

 _ **-The original SOLDIERs from ff7 we're just super powered humans so I had to change them up a bit here though there is more to them here than meets the eye. You'll find out more soon as the story progresses.**_

 _ **-I have decided that Jenova and Salem are different entities. Both will have a significant role soon. Think about it... Jenova's here to cleanse while Salem's here to destroy...presumably.**_

 _ **-Do you think that training will be enough for him to control it? Find out soon.**_

 _ **-Cardin is actually a competent fighter.**_

 _ **-The childhood friends of Jaune will have a significant part in the story. Some you may of have already known in the original series. Come one. Do you guys really think that the original cast of FF wouldn't have children of their own?**_

 _ **-Marlene and Denzel are married.**_

 _ **-The rest of the FF cast will appear soon so be ready…**_

 _ **-The Hunter's Hall is the colloquial term for the facilities of the World Hunter's Association**_

 _ **-Yamcha didn't defeat perfect Cell.**_

 _ **-Bulma did.**_

 _ **-guys.. guys... I just realized Yuffie + Vincent = Ruby... oh god...**_

 _ **Thanks for reading guys! Leave a review okay? :)**_


	7. Chapter 7

Edit: for some reason keeps removing Glynda and Blake's name on my fic...

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

* * *

The vast forests of Mistral was a pain to travel on.

The trees were high and the bushes we're dense. No trail in sight. Despite it being noon the place was dark and damp. It was a pain in the ass. Insects chirped loudly and the occasional rustles in the bushes give off false alarms.

Cloud sighed as he cut through another patch of intertwined Vines and shrubs with a part of his fusion sword.

He was currently in the middle of nowhere in the continent of Anima looking for his son. Prior to this, he had visited the famed Haven Academy. But to no avail. He had stayed on the city of Mistral for about three weeks, asking around some of his old contacts.

No luck though…

He needed to hurry, the mako pulses we're getting more and more frequent. And he had a gut feeling Jaune is involved.

Sure there were occurrences before but not at this magnitude.

His trek through the dense forest ended when he finally reached a cliff overlooking a walled up oriental styled town. He took a deep breath finally reaching his destination after three days worth of traveling on foot in a dense forest infested with all sorts of creatures.

The hidden Kisaragi clan village.

"Yuffie if you aren't here, I swear to the gods that-" He said before he was cut off when he saw smoke rising up from the Village….or town… They just call it village.

Sheathing his sword,Cloud jumped from the cliff and went on his way to help them.

He sprinted towards the main entrance of the town. Once he got closer he saw a few ninja-clad men fighting armed up assailants.

"The entrance is breached! Report to the high leader now! argh!" He ordered before he was shot in the head by a bandit.

Cloud clicked hit teeth and unsheathed the two smaller swords that were a part of the fusion sword. Holding both in each hand he began his assault on the

assailants. These men have little to no aura in them so he was able to cut through them with ease.

They drew first blood… not him.

The bandits reacted too late as Cloud already finished off 13 bandits.

"Kill hi-" A bandit ordered but he was cut off when Cloud slashed his head off.

The other bandits tried to fire their assault rifles at him but it meant little. Cloud just twirled his swords and deflected back the bullets.

The last remaining bandit fell on his but and pissed his pants while dropping the gun he was holding.

The bandit cried for his mommy as a few Kisaragi ninjas approached him with their weapons.

Cloud ignored the last bandit as he was cut down by some Kisaragi ninjas. but instead went to the injured kisaragi ninjas. One ninja in particular had a marked headband signifying her rank.

"Are you alright?" He knelt in front of an injured kunoichi.

"C-Cloud-sama…. I… will live thank you..." A female kunoichi bowed while holding her bleeding stomach as another used some low grade healing materia on her.

Cloud nodded.

"What happened here?" He knelt.

"Bandits." She answered.

Cloud raised his eyebrow.

"They're a bit too well equipped to be Bandits." Cloud said as he looked at the corpses. Metal armor and assault weapons. The blades they were carrying looked like they were well made too.

"Cloud-sama… there is no time. A caravan of them had breached the west entrance of the village. The high leader is in danger! urgh…." She tried to beg for cloud but cloud stopped her by holding her shoulders and calming her down.

"Don't worry. I'll help. Have the civilians been evacuated? this place looks like a warzone."

"Y-yes… The people are currently guarded at the east side of the town."

"understood. Seal off this area before the Grimm come."

The ninjas nodded as he left the Kisaragi ninjas to treat their wounds and went inside the Village.

He began freerunning around the city, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, occasionally saving trapped civilians and killing any bandit that crossed him until he reached the West part of the town...err…. village. He stood on top of a building and surveyed the area.

True enough, there was currently a gunfight between the Kisaragi forces and the bandits. He looked towards the enemy lines to see a ruined tank that crashed on a burning building and some atlesian Paladins marching on the battlefield.

Who are these people?

/0/

On the top of the breached western wall a masked woman clad in red and a younger woman with short brown hair was watching the fight.

The masked woman clenched her fists.

"Who. Gave. The order." She said under her mask as she looked towards a bloodied bandit with long hair.

"I said...WHO GAVE THE ORDER?!" She grabbed the bandit's neck.

"Speak up!" The brown haired woman ordered.

"W-we don't know! we were just given a shit ton of hardware and cash and told us to raid the Kisaragi clan by some white haired asshole!"

"AND WHY DID YOU FUCKWITS ACCEPT IT WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?!" She screamed in anger.

"W-we just thought we could take them! I mean that guy just gave us all that stuff! H-he even gave us Paladins and Tanks!" The bloodied up bandit said.

"Take them? heh...FUCKING TAKE THEM?! NOW WE HAVE TO WATCH OUR BACKS FROM FUCKING NINJAS KILLING US IN OUR SLEEP! GET THEM OUT OF THERE! ISSUE A RETREAT!" The masked woman yelled as she slammed the bandit to the ground, leaving him coughing on the ground.

The masked woman sighed.

"Vernal. If you please."

The brown haired girl nodded and raised up her arms.

The sky turned black as rain clouds formed. The sky began to crackle and rain started to pour.

The bandits and the ninjas stopped fighting for a bit.

There were then thunderclaps that boomed in patterns.

The bandits looked at each other and nodded.

This was a retreat signal.

Soon enough the Bandits began to retreat as the Ninjas began firing back.

One Bandit pulled out a rocket launcher and fired at the Kisaragi ninjas.

The Kisaragi clansmen tried to escape but the debris and ruined building prevented them.

The missile was closing in.

But then a black blur suddenly went in front of the incoming missile. He Just merely deflected the missile with one of his swords and sent the missile towards a nearby uninhabited building.

The kisaragi clansmen were speechless for a moment before realizing who it was who just saved them.

There stood a blonde spiky haired man with a myriad of swords in his back.

"Cloud-sama!" The clansmen cheered.

"Quiet!" Cloud yelled.

The ninjas went quiet for a bit before cloud continued.

"Protect the civilians! the grimm will come soon!" Cloud ordered.

The Kisaragi ninjas nodded and left.

On the top of the west wall the masked woman looked down on a new figure standing in between the ninjas and the bandits. Most of her bandits were now retreating a few fools still stayed. It didn't take long before the man began cutting down the fighting few. Soon enough he began to target the retreating bandits.

She clicked her teeth. This man was powerful.

After all. He was once a part of Ozpin's little group.

"Cloud Strife… damn…"

She clenched her fists and jumped down to aid her idiotic clansmen.

/0/

Cloud had just finished off another fleeing bandit. His swords were now bloody from the vast amounts of bandits that he killed and his clothes were sticky from it as well.

The swordsman stood alone in a sea of bandit corpses. How many has he killed in this part of town?... 10?15? 40? it didn't matter. He will kill anyone who dares attempt to hurt the innocent and especially his friends.

Years of fighting had hardened him.

"I swear, when I find you Jaune, I will beat the crap out of you." He mumbled.

He then heard somebody land behind him.

He turned around to see a woman with a Grimm mask, clad in black and red samurai-like clothing and armor.

"Well… if it isn't the traitor herself… didn't think you'd stoop so low as to this." Cloud had his suspicions on the identity of this bandit clan. Turns out he was right.

The woman just looked at him before she spoke.

"This was a mistake. Someone tricked my men into attacking the Kisaragi clan."

Cloud raised his eyebrow and looked around. He could see dead civilians in the buildings all around him.

"A mistake? Making excuses now are we? Look around you Raven." He gestured to the death of bandit's, Ninjas, and civilians all around him.

"This is what you do. Even if this was a mistake, you'd just bring more of this death on the innocent villages here in Mistral… you disgust me. Monster." Cloud looked at her coldly.

Raven snapped, she attacked Cloud with a quickdraw strike with her katana.

Cloud deflected it with his sword and used the other one to strike her.

Raven jumped back.

Cloud just stood there looking at her.

Raven began her attack once again while Cloud just merely countered every strike.

Raven cursed. She knew of how powerful Cloud was. This whole plan of attacking him was a bust from the beginning.

No. She didn't plan this at all.

Cloud began bushing her back with a flurry of slashes.

Raven was struggling to defend herself from the swordsman. She contemplated whether she could use 'that' right now but it was too much of a gamble since someone could be watching her right now.

"Damn it!" She yelled as she jumped back and opened a portal, making her escape quick.

Cloud just sighed…

"Cloud?" A voice called out behind him.

He turned around to see a woman in her 30s wearing skin tight jeans, a top which only covered her chest, leaving her stomach open and a short brown Jacket with some metal plating on one arm. Her black hair was fashioned to a bob cut. Even though she was in her 30s she still had that air of youthful energy in her.

"Yuff-"

Before he could say anything he was suddenly tackled by a hug.

"It's good to see you again blondie..." She said.

Cloud smiled and hugged back.

"It's good to see you too."

The two were interrupted when a ninja came with a report.

"Kisaragi-sama! The materia! They're all gone!"

/0/

Glynda couldn't believe what she was hearing from Ozpin.

"... Could you repeat that?"

Glynda said in disbelief.

"I want you to train Mister Arc in controlling the mako energy inside him. I need you to train him to become a SOLDIER."

"SOLDIER? As in those genetically enhanced hunters?" Glynda asked trying to make sense of this.

"Yes"

"... And you say Mister Arc is… turning into one?"

"Yes."

"You want me. To teach him how to control an energy element that we barely understand and treat it like aura?"

"Yes."

Glynda pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Ozpin?"

"Yes?"

"Are you insane?" Glynda asked with a deadpan look.

"Maybe. But we really do need his power for what's to come Glynda."

Glynda sighed.

"Why not ask the ex-Shinra Soldiers at the WRO?"

"They would take him away. And lock him up. Experimented even. Killed at worst." Ozpin answered bluntly.

"And why is that?"

"Have you noticed his eyes?"

His eyes? That's right, they turn to slits whenever he activated his sem- ability…

"Have you heard of the name: Sephiroth?"

"The name of the man who threatened to destroy the world 26 years ago. What of him? Last I heard was that he was killed by a certain unidentified group. You were the one who told us that since the kingdoms are so adamant in keeping what actually happened during the tragedy of Midgar and Shinra a secret."

Ozpin nodded.

"Though this was before your time, do you know what happened during the geostigma incident 25 years ago?"

Glynda pondered. This was before her time.

"I take it it has something to do with sephiroth?"

"Indeed." Ozpin nodded.

"Sephiroth returned in the form of remnants and wreaked havoc on the populace of Edge." Ozpin explained.

"Remnants?"

"Beings formed by Sephiroth as physical manifestations of his will from within the Lifestream, the remnants are each a fragment of his will and serve to enable his physical resurrection into the world."

"I don't…" Glynda was now confused… Remnants? Fragments of his will?

"It's hard to explain, I must admit. Let's just say that they are clones... "

Glynda nodded and cupped her chin, thinking and processing all of this.

"So they are clones of sephiroth… what does this have to do with mr. Arc?" She asked.

"I have a reason to believe that mister Arc maybe something like one of these remnants…"

Glynda dropped her scroll to the floor. Wide eyed and mouth gaping.

"Youre saying...that he's a clone of sephiroth?"

"No. He's no clone I can assure you. I was there when he was born. Remnants are created through the manifestation of infected life stream. However young Jaune was born to a mother and a father. His father was injected with the very same cells which created Sephiroth so it's very possible that these cells were passed on to the male offspring."

Glynda breathed a sigh of relief. She would go ballistic if Ozpin had secretly kept a dangerous being in school… though this would not be the first time. Still the security and the safety of her students were important to her.

"It's possible that he is an inheritor of sorts. Jaune is no monster Glynda. You can see how he acts everyday towards the people he meets. However the abilities he inherited may possibly hurt himself and the people around him. Though, I have to admit... It's the first time I've seen something like this. That's why in addition in helping him in energy control, I want you to look after him. I'm going to be away for a while and I need someone to help the boy so that we can have a fighting chance for what's to come. "

Glynda pondered for a moment, looking down on the floor before looking at Ozpin and accepting the request.

"I'll… try my best… I'm going to have to research a bit about Mako energy, so I'm gonna have to ask your authorization to access the grand archives."

"Very well. Thank you Glynda." Ozpin gave her a smile.

She sighed and bowed before she left.

As the door closed Ozpin took the time to read on the test results of Jaune's blood which he acquired during the incident three days ago. His brows furrowed.

The results disturbed him beyond belief…

Jaune Strife paternity test result…

Cloud strife 43%

Tiffa lockheart 2%

Unkown:55%

This is wrong….. He was there when Jaune was born. He was with cloud as he waited for the delivery of his new son.

….Gods…

/0/

"Think she's really asleep? I have the whipped cream ready" Jaune asked in a hushed voice. Grinning mischievously.

"I think so, quick, ready the camera!" She said excitedly, also in a hushed tone.

Yang was currently snoring on her bed. She was drooling in her sleep. It was currently already 9:35 am by the way.

"I don't think we should do this…." Pyrrha said as she looked on to the mischievous duo.

"Technically this is her punishment for sleeping in despite the plans we made." Blake reasoned, tho deep inside it was just for revenge for teasing her on multiple occasions.

They all planned to have an outing on the weekend after the mock tournament just to hangout in Vale as a group of friends not as students. It had already been four days since then and it was now currently Saturday. While their early morning breakfast discussions were fun, they still needed to unwind a bit. This was supposed to be special too since this would be the first time the group of friends hang out in the city. And this was also the perfect opportunity to get to know Jaune's childhood friend more.

"I got the camera ready!" Nora chimed in in a hushed tone.

"Do you guys always do this?" Velvet asked with a raised eyebrow. She and her team were asked to join team JNPR and RWBY on an outing sadly the rest of her team were off doing their own thing.

"Eh, sometimes." Jaune answered.

"This is very childish by the way." Weiss commented however she also had her camera on for future blackmailing purposes. She planned to use the embarrassing photo or video to make her stop teasing her.

"Hey where's Ren?" Jaune asked wondering where his fellow male was.

"He said he'll just be waiting at the airdocks." Nora answered.

Jaune nodded.

"Alright, let's do this…."

Ruby nodded.

The two of them sneak towards Yang's bed.

The others watched with bated breath as the two tiptoed near her bed.

Ruby and Jaune looked at each other and nodded.

Ruby pulled out a small pink colored feather from an unknown bird while Jaune carefully applied whipped cream on her hanging hand.

Ruby began tickling her sister's left cheek.

*SPLAT*

Ruby and Jaune jumped back laughing as Yang slowly got up with a face full of whipped cream.

Yang looked at them with groggy eyes. She looked at her left hand which was covered with whipped cream.

She licked some of it off before saying something.

"Looks like we got two candidates for the 'Start everyday with a Yang' project." Her eyes turned red and her hair flared up.

Jaune and Ruby backed up and turned to their compatriots….sadly they were not there anymore.

Traitors!

Both gulped as Yang got up with a sadistic smile plastered all over her face.

Elsewhere Ren sat on a bench checking the time on his scroll.

"They should be here any moment no-"

Boom!

A small explosion could be heard from the direction of the dorms which Ren just shrugged off.

/0/

"I told you we were sorry! Plus it was your fault for sleeping in!" Ruby tried to reason with her sister.

Yang pouted as they all sat inside the airship with her arms crossed between her chest.

They were all dressed in casual wear now and were waiting for the airship to land at Vale.

Jaune and Ruby sat beside each other. Luckily they had aura to save them when Yang rained anger upon them both back at the dorms. As of now, team RWBY's dorm window was being repaired.

"'Twas pretty funny though." Jaune and Ruby chuckled.

Yang sent a sharp look at Jaune and Ruby which made the two promptly clutch each other's arms in fear.

"Mark my words Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose… I will have my revenge…" Yang said in a dark tone. The two pranksters gulped.

Beside them Velvet and Pyrrha giggled at the three.

"So what's the plan for today?" Weiss asked.

The nine of them looked at each other, hoping for any suggestions.

Jaune hummed.

Ruby made a thinker pose and wracked her mind for suggestions.

Pyrrha looked unsure.

Blake was just reading her book.

Velvet looked at her new friends.

Ren was trying hold Nora and prevent her from opening the airship doors.

Nora was trying to open the airship doors saying that the view is prettier to look at if there was no glass.

Weiss facepalmed at the lack of plans this outing has.

It was then the holo-tv program suddenly went to a commercial.

The commercial was going on and on about a new mall opening downtown and are currently announcing a first day sale.

The girls looked at each other and the guy looked at each other.

"Oh no…" The two males muttered.

"SHOPPING!" All the girls cheered, surprisingly Blake as well.

The other passengers on the airship gave their silent condolences to the two.

/0/

Jaune slumped on a nearby bench outside of a myriad of different shops. Both of them were taking turns in assisting the girls in their shopping.

Yang was currently accompanying her sister in a weapon shop just near the bench.

Blake was checking out different bookstores.

Weiss was dragging Pyrrha around different fashion oriented shops.

Ren was also being dragged around by Nora to who knows where.

While Velvet accompanied him. Though she was currently getting some smoothies for the both of them.

A lot of his friends assumed that he would have at least gotten used to it by now since he had 7 sisters to deal with but no. He still was not used to it. He never really understood the appeal of shopping. If it we're him he'd just go to the shop, buy what he needed, and then leave. That was it. Girls however…

"Oh! Let's try that other shop! There's a 20% off of their jackets!" Yang pulled her sister towards a shop adjacent to where they sold clothes.

"Yaaaaang! I still want to check the weapons shop!"

"Hush Rubes! You're not gonna get noticed if you keep on wearing that outfit that you always wear!"

Ruby pouted then noticed Jaune.

"Help me brother!" She extended her arm as the other was held and pulled by Yang.

Jaune just hugged and smiled smugly at her as he gestured towards the many bags and boxes that he was guarding.

"Designated security guard remember?"

Ruby gave him a distraught look before yelling "Traitor!" Before the shop door closed as they went in.

Jaune shook his head and chuckled. It was currently his turn to guard the items they all bought. Though admittedly he had bought nothing during this trip because he was currently broke at the moment. He actually planned to look for any hiring posters during this trip to earn some lien during his time at beacon. He wanted to tell his friends though he sometimes forgets due to the things that clouded his mind like school and all that SOLDIER stuff… Glynda's training hasn't started yet simply because she still needs to prepare it when he asked her and this second person hasn't arrived yet too. When he asked about it from Ozpin, the headmaster simply told him that he was currently dealing with things on his end. Other than that nothing peculiar really happened after that.

He sighed on the bench and opened up his scroll.

11:35 am..

It was almost time for lunch.

He wondered where they would eat in this mall but shrugged it off to let the others decide where they would go next.

"Hey you doing all right there?"

He turned his head to see Velvet holding smoothies in both hands.

She offered him the mango flavored one which he thankfully accepted.

"Yeah, I'm doing good. Thanks." He smiled at her.

Velvet smiled and sat down beside him.

"Who would've thought that you were a year older than me. I mean back when we were kids you were adorably shorter than me and tended to cry a lot."

Jaune let out a small laugh before Velvet gave him a light punch on his arm.

"Most of the reason why I cried a lot was because you kept getting into fights for me! I couldn't bear to see you get hurt! Idiot…"

She pouted.

"But it worked didn't it? Those kids never bothered you and your sisters ever again."

She sighed.

"I guess it did. But that still doesn't excuse you for getting yourself hurt idiot…" she looked at him with a sad look.

He just smiled and rubbed her head like he always did.

Velvet's drooped and her face flushed. It seemed to have calmed her down alot. Jaune still wondered why that was.

She was currently wearing a black sleeveless top beneath a light brown jacket to cover her shoulder. On her neck was a cute rabbit shaped pendant, Jaune recognized it as pumpkin Pete's mascot.

"Hey isn't that?..." Jaune looked at the pendant.

Velvet blushed.

"You still remember this?"

"Of course I do! How could I forget it! Oh wait here look…"

Jaune pulled out a carrot shaped pin which he pinned to his wallet.

"We exchanged this back when you were leaving for Menagerie… we swore that when we would meet, we would meet as Hunter and huntress! Saving lives and taking names hehe…"

Velvet giggled. She used to put that pin on the beret that her father gave her when she was a child.

"I guess we met too early huh?" Velvet said.

"Yeah, but it's not a problem. I got to meet my childhood friend."

Velvet smiled.

"That reminds me, how are things back at Argent? How are the others?" She asked before she sipped from her straw.

Jaune flinched for a bit before he hid his discomfort quickly.

"I… don't really know. A Lot of our old friends left Argent a year before you left. Haven't heard from most of them. But there are still a few that stayed."

Jaune gave her a somber smile.

Velvet gave him a worried look. Friends come and go… Velvet understood that, she had a hunch Jaune also knew that too so she just put a hand on his shoulder.

Jaune touched her hand on his shoulder. Velvet has always been there when they were kids whenever he would feel bad. In fact back when he was rejected by his first crush it was Velvet who comforted him and another one of his close friends encouraged him to not give up.

"Was Amber one of them?" She asked.

"Yeah…"

Amber was one of Jaune's closest friends. The big sister of his little circle. She was often the one who encourages Jaune to pursue his crushes despite being one of them earlier on. Velvet knew that he used to have a thing for that girl. Though it hurt. She still supported him.

Jaune's circle of friends were kids that shared the same dream as him. All strived to be hunters and huntresses. He didn't tell others about his parents' strictness when it came to preventing him any contact with the Hunter's world though. Eventually each friend left to become hunters and Huntresses. They all left until it was only him.

"Don't worry Jaune… I'm sure we'll see her sooner or later. But right now we gotta focus on becoming the hunters that we always dreamed of." She gave him a reassuring smile.

"Thanks Velvet." He said to her.

Velvet smiled but then frowned.

"I've been meaning to ask…"

Jaune noticed her expression and immidiately knew what she was going to ask.

"... Jaune… why do they call you Arc?"

Jaune felt his stomach contract and his chest tighten.

"I'm not going to judge you… I just need a clear answer why… you changed your family name… did your mother remarry?"

Velvet looked concerned. She knew Jaune's family. They were a great family! Albeit too over protective. She had actually doubted that he was actually her childhood friend at first because of it. Though now that she knows that he is who he is, she couldn't help but wonder why he changed his name.

"What? No! No!... Of course not! It's…"

Just before he could explain he felt something tug on his sleeve. He turned to see a white haired little girl clutching a small stuffed rabbit. Her hair was fashioned to a little ponytail and her eyes were teal blue like his. The expression she gave was that of a bored look. It was strange to say the least since he felt like he knew this girl.

"Oh hello. Are you lost little girl?" Velvet asked the little girl.

The little girl shook her head. She tugged Jaune's sleeve again and pulled him.

"Umm… can I help you?" Jaune asked with a questioning look.

The little girl nodded.

He looked to Velvet but Velvet just shrugged.

"I'll watch over the stuff. You go help that little girl. We'll continue our talk later." Velvet smiled.

Jaune sighed and gave her his thanks before letting himself get pulled by the girl.

/0/

The little girl guided Jaune towards a small cafe after going through a dozen or so turns. Jaune kept asking her where they were going but the girl didn't answer.

As the little girl guided him his mind was once again in turmoil whether to tell his friend the shameful truth or make a believable lie. He didn't want to lie to Velvet. She was one of his best friends. She was a person he could trust. He knew her even before he went to Beacon.

The little girl kept guiding them until they reached a certain cafe.

[Loveless cafe]

'huh… what are the odds…'

Jaune had been looking for the continuation of the old poem. He had been looking for awhile but his current monetary problems and school prevented him from progressing.

The both of them entered the cafe and the girl motioned him towards a table that was occupied by three girls.

One was wearing a long hooded shirt that reached to her thighs, there was a miniskirt but it was covered by the long hoodie. She was wearing black leggings and had headphones on. The hood was pulled up and her white hair covered half her face.

Another also had white hair though this was tied to a formal bun. This girl was spectacled and looked older. She was wearing a black turtleneck shirt and an office skirt above her black leggings and heels. She was currently reading a book.

The last one was currently happily eating cake. She also had white hair and teal blue eyes. Her hair was fashioned to twin tails with blue ribbons tying them up.

The all turned towards him once the little girl approached them.

They all had teal blue eyes… like his.

Jaune trembled for a bit. They all looked gorgeous… it made him nervous. Though that wasn't only it. He also felt like he knew them. It was a strange feeling.

"Well well well… who did you bring to us little sister?"

The bespectacled one spoke.

"Oh! He's-!" The twin tailed girl spoke before she was glared at the bespectacled one.

The one in the hood had wide eyes and was trembling as she stared at him. He somewhat felt uncomfortable in her gaze. Like she was eating him with her eyes in an animalistic fashion.

"Uuhh.. your little sister just kinda dragged me to you guys- err… girls."

He scratched his head nervously.

The little girl just looked at him and tilted her head slightly.

The bespectacled woman looked at him and smiled.

"I apologize for that. She seemed to have mistook you for our brother. We're gonna see him and mother very soon, I guess she was just excited."

"A...ah… well it's alright. I just though she needed help. Try to watch over her properly next time."

Jaune noticed the hooded girl was now looking away and was panting heavily.

"Don't worry about her. She's just shy. What don't you join us? Think of it as an apology for taking your time." The bespectacled girl spoke.

"Yes well it was nice meeting you lovely ladies but I… uhh have to go. Yeah… sorry."

He knew that this was being rude but being near these girls, minus the little one, made him uncomfortable… it was like he was being drawn towards him.

The older one noticed his stiff expression and gave him a sultry smirk and leaned her head on her hand.

"Oh… well that's too bad. Come now Lily."

The bespectacled girl looked at the little one.

"So your name is Lily huh? Well you should go off causing problems for your sisters… who knows what would've happened if it were some shady guy who found you."

He knelt beside her and gave her a pat on the head.

The little girl looked like she didn't want to let go. Her eyes looked like they were pleading him to stay which momentarily made Jaune hesitate to leave...

The girl then hesitantly let go of his sleeve and waddled towards the older girls.

"Well then I guess I'll take my leave."

"A shame. Well it can't be helped. Good day to you."

The bespectacled girl nodded while the twin tailed girl wanted to say something but couldn't, the hooded one was now hunched over her seat still panting and trembling.

Jaune left the cafe. As soon as he was out of sight he slumped on a nearby wall and breathed heavily.

"What was that?..." He whispered to himself.

It felt so suffocating there. It felt like something took hold of his lungs and kept squeezing it.

"This feeling… it can't be…"

He quickly went to a nearby bathroom, locked the door and looked at the mirror.

"What?.. h-how?! I wasn't even in danger!"

He saw that his eyes were now slits and were glowing mako blue. Soon, the slits began to raidly shift from normal to slits again. He quickly pulled out his scroll and tried to type in Ozpin's number but he couldn't, his hands went numb and his head began to hurt. He gritted his teeth due to the pain.

He tried punching himself like what he did back at the mock tourney but it didn't work.

/0/

At the same time in the loveless cafe…

"That...was him…" The hooded girl trembled on her face was a euphoric smile.

"Epsilon.. calm yourself… it's disgusting." The bespectacled girl spoke as she sipped her tea.

"You sure that was him? Big sister Alpha has larger mako reserves. He has… eh maybe half of mine give or take." The twin tailed girl spoked as she munched on some cookies.

"He is a catalyst dear sister. The strongest one yet. He may have the highest chance yet… unlike those other failures…" The bespectacled girl replied.

"That was him! I know it's him! I could feel it in every inch of my body! Hehe~ Ah! I want to merge with him now!" Epsilon exclaimed as she stood up. It was lucky that the cafe was somewhat empty.

"Geez! Calm down Epsy! He's just one catalyst! I'm sure those remnants have found more subjects other than that guy already." The twin tailed girl threw a cookie at Epsilon's forehead.

Epsilon growled at the twin tailed girl.

"What do you know Theta? I doubt you even want to meet with big brother and mother. All you ever talk or think about is Big Sis, Alpha."

"What did you say you fucking brocon?!" Theta slammed her hands on the table and glared at Epsilon with slit eyes.

The bespectacled girl just closed her eyes and sipped her tea and let the two bicker on.

Epsilon smirked.

"I don't have to take that from a Siscon! Ohhh Alpha this~ Alpha that~ Oh alpha I wanna-...oh?"

The four of them then felt a huge wave of mako energy. Energy that only they could feel.

"Hehe~"

Epsilon suddenly jumped off her seat and ran towards the source pushing anyone out of her way.

"Hey! W-"

"Theta. Leave her." The bespectacled girl spoke not even opening her eyes.

Theta sighed.

"Hope you know what you're doing. Damnit I should be with Big Sis right now, collecting materia. Damn it…"

/0/

Jaune struggled to stand up, his vision was now blurring, his nose bled from the times he punched his face to attempt to stop the influx of mako energy.

He was beginning to lose hope. Was he going to die? Was this the end?

Such thoughts crossed his mind.

Suddenly the bathroom door opened up.

Jaune turned to see a blurred figure suddenly grabbing him by the collars of his shirt and pushed on to the sink. His eyes widened as the blurred figure suddenly kissed him. And this was no simple and innocent kiss either. This was violent. The blurred figure's tongue fought wildly at his own. He tried pushing the figure off but the figure was just too strong and pinned him to the broken mirror. He didn't even blush. He was more scared than anything.

Flashes of memories began to fill his mind…

Glass tubes…

An assembly line of children…

Men in white suits…

Green liquid being pumped into their veins…

It was horrible…

The children faces contorted into pain…

They were put in pens, being observed from afar by men in white suits…

Slowly but surely, his vision began to return to normal. His strength came back, and the pain was slowly going away. He looked at the figure to see that it was the same hooded girl from the cafe.

The girl's lips parted with an audible smack. The girl looked and smiled a dangerous smile after licking her lips at Jaune's flushed and surprised look.

She leaned close to his ear and whispered.

"You're welcome… brother… hehe"

She stood up straight and wiped her lips with her sleeve and left the bathroom. But not before she said something to him.

"It would be best to keep this from others if you don't want to be taken by them. We'll meet again soon. Bye~ bye~"

She cutely waved her hand and left.

Jaune was there slumped and stunned at what just happened. All he could really think right now was:

"What the fuck?..."

/0/

Epsilon returned to the cafe.

"So how was it?" The bespectacled woman asked.

"Delicious."

Theta scoffed and mouthed a curse.

"Not that Epsilon. How was the compatibility?" The bespectacled girl asked.

"Perfect. The energy inside him became stable instantaneously once I merged with his a little bit. Well. Minus the a little bit part. Gave him my first kiss~" Epsilon smiled.

"What? That's impossible!" Theta was sceptical. Of course she would be. All the other catalysts were incompatible and highly volatile. Supposedly they were just going to touch them and 'merge' with them a little bit, give them 5% or more, never above 10%. Almost all mutated while few were left brainless and a drooling mess. Kissing means that she just gave 40% to that guy. Which was insane.

The bespectacled girl smirked.

"Perfect. Well then it seems that our mission here is done. Let us return Home."

The three girls nodded.

"Oh and next time. Don't stab our guests Epsilon."

Epsilon just pouted and shrugged.

"Ugh.. yes Beta…"

"This guy better not be like that bull Faunus. Fucking damn it." Theta commented.

"He won't be I assure you. That failure ain't got nothing on brother." Epsilon smirked a toothy grin.

"Ugh.. you're even calling him brother now…" Theta looked disgusted.

"Enough. Let's go." Beta stopped them.

"Yes sister." Both said monotonically in unison.

/0/

Jaune returned to the group who was now waiting for him on the bench, they were all carrying different bags of items.

"Jaune there you are! Where have you been?" Velvet waved at him. However Pyrrha noticed something and approached him.

"Are you alright? You look flushed." she asked.

Jaune contemplated whether to answer truthfully however both Ozpin's and that girl's words began to repeat themselves in his head.

'Them? Those men in suits? What did she mean? Could it be what Ozpin was warning him about?'

"Y-yeah, I'm just feeling a little bit under the weather. Don't worry."

The girls looked at each other doubting his words but let it go because it seemed like he didn't want to say anything.

"How was the little girl? What did she need help with?" Velvet asked nicely.

"Huh? Oh yeah… uhh.. Just a case of mistaken identity. Her guardians apologized after that. Dont worry she's fine" Jaune gave her a reassuring smile.

"Right…" Velvet looked worried. Jaune looked like he had run a marathon.

"So uhhh…where do you girls wanna eat?" Jaune asked trying to change the topic.

"Ugh I thought you'd never asked! Renny and I found this sweet Mistralian restaurant!" Nora quickly chidded in. She continued saying that this restaurant sold all sorts of Mistralian foods including all sorts of sweets that involved either ice cream or waffles.

"Can't we go to a place more…. Healthier?" Weiss looked disgusted at what Nora was describing. She needed to watch what she ate so that she could maintain a body worthy of a Schnee heiress and a huntress.

"Well I think this place sounds nice!" Yang mused.

"Oh! Do they have an assortment of cookies too?!" Ruby asked excitedly.

Nora grinned and gave Ruby the thumbs up.

Ruby's eye sparkled and went beside Nora putting her arm around the Valkyrie.

"Lead the way my compadre!"

Jaune looked to Ren hoping for a different suggestion.

Ren just stared blankly at jaune and shrugged.

"Queen's orders."

Jaune sighed and grabbed the shopping bags, Weiss groaned, Blake was indifferent, Yang followed Nora and Ruby while Pyrrha and Velvet helped Jaune and Ren carry the bags.

As they all went on their way they all noticed Jaune behaving strangely. They all knew that Jaune tends to think a lot about stuff but this was new. He was literally deep in thought as they walked.

Pyrrha and Velvet looked at each other in worry.

/0/

Qrow took a sip of his flask as he inspected another mangled body in Forever Fall. The fed were now clearing the area out and put barriers all over the place. The train tracks were shut down too.

The body was cut up in half. It's remains were not gone, probably some kind of animal already scavenged it. The whole area was torn up. Some trees were cut and there seemed to be weird markings on the ground. Not footprints. Markings. Looked like something dragged itself in an erratic fashion and drew shapes and other weird stuff as it moved.

Qrow sighed.

Unexplained killings over the forests and mountains on each continent. Weird reports of monsters other than grimm. Dead bodies strung all over places...

Ozpin had said that this kind of shit's been happening all over remnant, especially on Vacuo and Mistral. No reports on Atlas though, Atlas seems to be tight lipped on the subject of weird unexplained events.

So far though the Cities and the larger towns have been untouched. Small villages however…

Qroe sighed and once again began to survey the area.

On the side was a backpack and a discarded scroll which seemed to still be recording.

He picked it up and reviewed all the found footage which these poor victims left as they died. Hoping it would would be a lead. But all it showed was a blurred and shaky footage of something chasing them.

People liked recording their outings. Especially hikers and treasure hunters. Why people would think to hike so far away from safety baffled him.

Good scrolls were incredibly rare to people on the outer kingdoms, usually only held by the upper class and hunters, occasional bandits and criminals too… but to common folk, these were rare. That's why all he could dig up on found footages were from old or cheap knock offs of scrolls that are sold in the cities. Also the reason why there are still courier mail services all throughout the frontiers…

It's already been a month since Ozpin had found that ransacked warehouse... Most escaped grimm where already dealt with by the professionals.

The current scene may look like something out of a grimm attack but Ozpin had his doubts… Which is why he sent him. There was supposed to be that other assignment but right now his hands are full.

He picked up a stick and poked around the body parts. The lacerations dont look like claw marks, rather they look like lashings. Like someone used a huge metal chain and whipped the poor sod to pieces.

Normally he would just let the WHA's forensics team to analyze the scene, make a report and issue a quest or whatever... but this wasn't normal. Vale is just 20 miles from here. Older reports stated the same type of killings 50 miles away from here….

This thing was coming closer and closer to Vale as time passed. There was still no confirmation of there are more of these things which is why it was worrying him.

He then heard an engine's hum from afar. He jumped up a tree and squinted to see a few bullheads with the World Hunter's Association's logo on it.

"Hmph...Late…Like always."

He jumped down and took a long swig off his flask.

The area was already cleared of Grimm. He made sure of that. The scent of the sap from the trees managed to attract hundreds but it wasn't a problem for him really. The most dangerous Grimm in forever falls was a larger Variant of an Ursa...

He sat on a fallen tree to wait for the WHA agents to land and inspect the scene.

As soon as they landed Men and Women in white and blue suits quickly dispersed after their security team inspected the area and gave their ok.

Qrow stood waiting with his arms crossed to his chest. To his surprise, there was a lone WRO agents among the WHA that came out of the bullhead. He had brown somewhat messy hair and green eyes.

He approached Qrow.

"I take it that you're Qrow? Ozpin had contacted the WRO and requested support on the case."

Qrow nodded.

"My name's Denzel. One of the chief medical officer at WRO and forensics expert." He extended a hand but Qrow just turned his back and motioned The WRO agent to follow.

/0/

"So what do you got? Any leads?" Qrow asked as Denzel sampled the area around the scene after examining the bodies. He was currently crouching with a device in his hand, sampling the dirt, blood, flesh and debris.

"There's a large concentration of corrupted life stream here as well as infected mako fluid on the bodies... Like all the others. Same type of injuries like those bodies found a week ago near Pine woods..."

Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"Infected mako fluid?"

Denzel nodded. He stood up and looked at Qrow

"Look Qrow right? I'm sorry but your services are no longer needed here. The WRO can handle this situation from here on out. Tell Ozpin that it's a code C, he'll understand."

Qrow's eye twitched.

"You want me to leave? Well Denzy, I happen to be informed on those so called codes. So it's a mutated sephiroth clone? Is that it? That's what's been killing people here?"

He's been on this case for good three weeks, he wasn't going to leave this case just because some WRO official says so… what went Ozpin's mind when he asked for those corrupt assholes help?

"Oh? So you know about the code? Well then you should know that protocol states than whenever a Mutant appears, it is to be dealt by the organization's SOLDIER squads not Hunters. Those things are too much for hunters. If you were to deal with this then you would die. Also we do not refer to them as mutated sephiroth clones anymore, try to get up to speed with your info. There's a difference between a clone and a mutant."

Blunt and honest. He's gotta admit, the suit had guts.

Qrow clicked his tongue in defeat.

"Ah whatever…" Qrow kicked a fallen log in frustration before he left. All that work for nothing.

Denzel pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Hunters… really…" He commented before he did some more inspection.

/0/

The group now sat on a large table waiting for their food to be cooked, during that time the girls took their chance at chatting with each other, Ren being the most quiet one besides Blake was currently correcting some discrepancies on Nora's 'awesome stories that totally happened'.

Jaune tried his best to hide his uneasiness and discomfort due to the incident earlier, faking a laugh and a smile occasionally.

It seemed to work. Velvet and Pyrrha were chatting happily While Weiss was reading a Magazine. Ruby and Yang listened on to Nora's story about the time when she met a talking Ursa. Jaune doubted it. Blake sat opposite to him reading a book.

It was strange.

Jaune thought that she went to that new bookstore and bought some books but he noticed that she wasn't really carrying anything other than the book she brought for the trip.

"Hey Blake, how was the new book store?" He asked.

Blake didn't look away from her book when she replied.

"It was fine. Though I didn't really see anything that interested me."

Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"Huh… not enough raunchy books for you?" He teased.

Blake sent him a glare in which he just laughed it off.

Blake sighed.

"At least you don't call them smut."

Jaune chuckled.

"Still though, I thought for sure you bought at least something. The new volume of Ninjas of Love just came out."

Blake just gave him a smirk and shrugged.

"What can I say? I have a lot of self control."

Jaune looked skeptical. He had known Blake to be quite the Ninja's of Love fanatic. Now that he looked closer, this book eerily looks like the new volume which came out today. Wait, she's been reading that book for 3 days… How did-

"What? Jaune, you read that smut too?" Yang joined in on the conversation.

"It's not smut!" Blake and Jaune hissed at the same time which prompted Yang to raise her hands in defence.

"Okay okay. Jeez."

"Ninjas of Love? Oh yeah that book series that's all the rage nowadays. What is it about anyway? Yang keeps dodging the question and preventing me from finding out." Ruby joined in.

"When you're older Ruby." Yang patted her cute little sister's head.

"Yang, I'm 15 not 12. I know all about the birds and the bees." Ruby crossed her arms and cutely pouted.

Yang gasped.

"Alright, who spilled the beans? Was it you?" Yang pointed at Pointed at Blake.

Blake just ignored her.

"Or was it you?"

Now she pointed at Weiss.

Weiss was startled and then looked confused.

"Or maybe...It was you two!" She now pointed to Velvet and Pyrrha.

"Fess up! It was you two wasn't it?"

Pyrrha put her hands on her lap and looked all serious and stuff which startled Velvet for a bit.

"It was for the best. Yang. Your sister needed to know."

Yang faked being shocked.

"But…. it wasn't me. Though I do know who did it. And he's sitting with us in this very table!"

"Dun dun duuuuuun!" Nora sang for sound effects.

"What? He? I-impossible. But that means..."

"What a naive big sister... The culprit was among us all along. And I've been working with him for awhile now." Ruby smiled smugly at her big sister as she played along.

"Fufufu… so you got it all figured out have you? You couldn't do well enough to just leave it alone." Jaune was now evilly smiling at her.

"But...n-no, h-how could you? She was my little sister!"

"Fufufu… it's too late now Yang, your little sister has learned the true ways of the world."

"You… you monster!" Yang faked a looked of betrayal.

"Pffft….Hahahahaha!"

The group of friends laughed at the skit. Even Blake chuckled a little bit and Weiss seemed to hide a giggle behind her magazine.

"..ha~ I love you guys." Yang wiped a tear off her eye.

"Seriously though, I think it's a little too… graphic for you little sis.

"Aww…" Ruby whined.

"Sorry Rubes the 17+ label is there for a reason." Jaune gave her an apologetic look.

"Not like it matters though…" Jaune laughed a little bit.

"Oh! Food's here!" Nora cheerfully said as a trolley with their food arrived.

It was lucky that Jaune had budgeted what was left of his expenses for this trip.

Though for now, he stuck to the cheapest meal, which was salad and an iced tea.

The others had a variety of foods each to their likings. Luckily everyone shared their meals with everyone, that made eating salad a little bit better.

As they were eating the t.v. caught Jaune's attention.

"-in other news, we are here live at forever fall forest where yet another dead hiker has been found…"

Jaune stopped eating. The other soon took notice and looked to the holo-tv in curiosity.

"-here we have the WRO forensics expert and chief medical officer Denzel Skye with a few words concerning this horrible incident."

"Denzel?" Jaune and Velvet said in unison which caught the attention of the others.

"Someone you know?" Yang asked.

"Yeah… he's a family friend. An uncle of sorts. He often visits us from time to time. Velvet knows him through me." Jaune answered while Velvet nodded.

Denzel was rarely around back when Jaune was a kid. It was because he was always studying with Marlene. Though whenever he was around, he would always take the time to hang out with Jaune and his friends.

"This is surprising… you know somebody from the WRO?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. She was genuinely surprised that Jaune knew a high ranking officer in the WRO.

"Yeah… most of my uncles and aunts work there." Jaune answered.

Weiss hummed.

The group then continued to watch the news.

"- From what we could find, it seems to be just another Grimm attack. Though it is sad, it is very common in these parts. We at the WRO and the WHA have already issued warnings concerning these types of forests. I would like to advice the public to mind the warnings and never go into dense forests without a Hunter."

Gunfire could then be heard in the background.

Denzel looked behind him to see a soldier give an ok signal.

"See? Grimm are very common here in forever fall due to the sap. Please. Don't be suicidal and run off on your own in places like this."

Denzel looked at the camera sternly.

The news reporter then pulled the mic away from Denzel after he was done.

"And there we have it folks. Don't be suicidal, mind the signs. Grimm are not to be taken lightly. This is Vera Violets. Signing off. Back to you Lisa."

The camera then cuts to the newsroom and pans to Lisa Lavender.

"Thank you Vera. In other news: Strange unexplained occurrences in Valean sewers. Authorities and witnesses we're baffled when they heard strange moaning noises in district 7's sewer system. Police have suspected that this may of have been the work of Grimm and have begun to notify the WHA."

The news continued on on the happenings around the city and the rest of the world most of which didn't interest Jaune. Most of it was about politics.

"Lots of things happening in Vale nowadays…" Jaune said as he went back to eating.

"Yeah… it's almost worrying. There's the dust robberies, sightings of white fang, urban legends…" Pyrrha agreed.

"One after another huh?..." Jaune sighed.

"Gotta admit it's been pretty lively here in Vale since school started a month ago." Yang said as she ate her burger.

Blake was silent but agreed with all of them. True, it had seemed like trouble's been converging here in Vale.

It was strange for her. Things like this would have been normal for her but School had actually helped keep them from all of this stuff. The benefit of being a student.

"All major cities have problems like this. It isn't like Vales the only one that has these." Weiss said.

"Well yeah, but it's not like every city out there has organized Dust robberies every night now do they?" Ruby chidded in.

"Still the cities are safer than living outside the walls though…" Ren said.

"Yeah…"

Jaune agreed.

"Ya know, it's weird. These dust robberies happen every night yet the police have yet to catch the perpetrators." Velvet said as she ate her food.

"Predicting these robberies can be quite difficult. It's not only the big shops that are being robbed, also the little ones as well. The authorities tried to monitor dust shops but most of the time the guards were knocked out." Blake added.

"Oooh! Do you guys think that that thing in the sewers is a sewer monster? Makes me want to hunt it down! Let's hu-" Nora was about to make a ridiculous suggestion but was cut off-

"No!"

As everyone declined.

They all continued to chat as they ate until they finished. The rest of the day was spent with them all exploring the newly opened mall. Velvet and Jaune hadn't really continued their conversation earlier but Jaune promised to tell her in private since it was a personal thing.

/0/

The sun was setting now, the group walked out of the mall with all sorts of bags with them. They just came from the mall's arcade and had managed to win some prizes while they were playing around.

Today was fun. That was everyone's thoughts as they now headed to the air docks for the return trip to Beacon. Everyone,safe for a quiet few, were idly talking about today's activities.

"Ah! Today was fun~" Ruby said as she stretched her arms as she walked.

"Yeah we should do this often." Yang added.

"Let's not forget that we still have homework that's due this monday. Today was… enjoyable but don't let it get to your heads." Weiss huffed.

A vocal few groaned.

"Come on Weiss. Ever heard of the phrase 'All work and no play makes you a dull person'?" Yang said.

"A little break can't hurt. In fact it's important for hunters and huntresses to take a break once in awhile. Working too much is very unhealthy, both mentally and physically." Pyrrha smiled at Weiss.

Weiss just sighed in defeat.

They all arrived at the air docks and bought their tickets.

Jaune stared at his ticket and contemplated whether to call it a day or do his 'side-quest' in fiding a part-time job.

As soon as an airship arrived and opened its doors, the group began collecting their things.

"You guys go on ahead."

The others stopped and turned their heads to Jaune in surprise.

"I've got something else to do here in Vale."

"Is everything okay?" Pyrrha asked in concern.

"It's fine Pyr. Well I'm currently trying to find a part-time job right now. It's not everyday I get to visit Vale. My funds are already on the red. You guys know that I'm self sustaining myself in Beacon right?"

"Really? If it's money then-" Pyrrha suggested but Jaune stopped her.

"Pyrrha, no. I can't take money from you. I need my own income while I'm here." Jaune put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. It had seemed to work as she sighed and gave jaune a smile.

"Alright… just be careful okay?"

He turned to Velvet and stared at her. To others the two of them looked like they were having a silent conversation.

Velvet sighed.

"It's fine Jaune, we can continue our chat later." Velvet smiled at him. Pyrrha looked curious as to what this chat was.

Jaune checked his watch.

"Well times running so I've got to hurry this up. You guys be careful on your way back." Jaune smiled.

They all said their goodbyes as Jaune turned and waved at them as he walked away from the group and eventually disappeared among the crowd.

"It can't be helped. Let's go guys." Ruby mused the others as she got on the airship first.

The rest followed except for one.

Blake stayed behind and stood on the platform.

"Blake?" Yang turned to see her partner standing on the platform not moving and just stared on the ground.

"I forgot the books that I had bought at the store. You guys go on ahead." Blake then suddenly turned. And walked away before anyone could react. The others looked confused. Before they could follow the conductor closed the doors and began to check on the passengers.

/0/

Jaune loitered around Vale, it was lucky that he wore his casual jacket on this trip as Vale was unusually cold at night. He looked around a dozen or so Shops, looking for any 'help wanted' sign.

Tonight Vale was very lively, likely because it was a saturday night and people tended to party during weekends. He could see a few teenagers entering different clubs situated in this block and drunk businessmen singing in the bars and having fun.

"Oh. Sorry." He apologized as he bumped on to a group. The group didn't mind and just went their way.

Truth be told, he was really nervous. He never had any experience looking for a job, he didn't know what to do as he kept looking for a sign. Right now he was currently the perfect example of a country bumpkin trying to belong in the city.

He reached a bench in front of a dress shop and rested there. Today was fun and stressful at the same time. His mind was clouded with worries and anxiety that it had began to cause migraines. The whole deal with that SOLDIER stuff and that incident earlier was affecting his train of thought. It was a miracle that he had held up today and managed to convince his friends that he was okay.

Jaune never thought that coming to Beacon would be this complicated. Though he didn't think that regular hunters-in-training had to deal with all this SOLDIER stuff.

He sighed.

He stood up and grabbed a can of iced coffee from a nearby vending machine.

"Jaune Strife? No way is that you?"

Jaune turned his head to the voice.

Before him was a girl with long silky black hair and purple eyes. She had this seductive look to her. The sexy purple dress that she was wearing added the erotic and mature allure to her. He expression was that of a spoiled brat with narcissistic tendencies. Behind her were a few guys and girls all dressed like they were out partying in some of the more mature clubs around these parts.

"Mira?"

"Who's this babe?" A tan muscular guy dressed with only a tanktop and some blue jeans came and put his arm around her.

She scoffed and smirked.

"An ex."

Mira West was once Jaune's girlfriend during his last year in middle school. She used to be a very plain girl with large glasses and was on the chubby side.

'Why?... why is she here?'

Jaune's stress level rose when he remembered painful memories. He supported her with all he's got yet she still broke up with him. His mind went back to that painful event as he froze up in front of her.

"Eh? You know this plain guy?" A girl behind her asked.

"Only before, don't worry, he's extremely harmless that it's almost pathetic." Mira giggled.

"You dated this guy? Haha look at him! He's practically shivering! Hahaha" The guy which put his arm around her laughed and mocked him. The other laughed with him.

Jaune clenched his fist as he seated.

 _Kill…_

"What are you doing out here alone? Wait! Don't tell me! You got dumped by your "friends' " She made an air quote gesture before she laughed.

 _kill_

"Hey guys, did you know that this guy used to go to his sisters whenever he has a problem? Talk about weak right?"

 _kill_

'No… that's wrong….I never...'

 _They're nothing more than insects…_

"Know who this guy is Jaune? Probably not. He's the son of the owner that club over there. Also a huntsman-in-training from Haven, currently on vacation. Did you know that his family owns several branches of restaurants all around Vale and Mistral? And what do you have?"

 _They are nothing… kill them_

The rest of her group looked down at him.

"Probably a virgin too hahaha" a girl from her group teased.

The group kept teasing him.

Jaune gritted his teeth and stood up wanting to leave.

"And where do you think you're going?" Mira called out as he turned his back on them.

"I've got better things to do than to waste my time on you assholes."

"What the fuck did you say?!" Her boyfriend snapped at Jaune preparing to attack him but Mira put her hand on his chest and stopped him.

"Oh? Like?" Mira smirked.

"Like-" Jaune wanted to reply but a familiar girl interrupted.

"Like meeting with his girlfriend."

A girl with wavy raven black hair with sharp eyes suddenly hooked her arm onto Jaune's. She was wearing a very stylish dress that matched her amber eyes. Her features were gorgeous, her lips were red with light lipstick and light makeup on her face that highlighted her beautiful features. The black ribbon on her hair enhanced her features and gave more detail on her glistening hair under the neon signs.

Jaune, Mira and her group where agape at how beautiful this girl was.

It took Jaune a moment to recognize that this was Blake Belladonna, the silent bookish girl of team RWBY.

"I told you that we would meet at the dress shop by the Three Bears club." Blake told him as she winked at him.

"I..uhh… might've misread it. Sorry." Jaune ad libbed and scratched his head.

"It's alright. I think I might've forgotten to put the club's name. No worries." Blake smiled at him before she turned to Mira andher group.

"Sorry, we don't really have time to waste right now. Now if you please let my boyfriend go before I call the cops for harassing us."

Mira glared at Blake and Jaune before she motioned her group to follow and leave them both alone.

"So...what-"

"Not here. Follow me." Blake didn't let go of Jaune's arm as she guided him through the crowd. As they walked Jaune noticed quite a lot of stares from men. Jaune knew that the thing from before was to stave off Mira, had he been younger he would've looked more into this and assume something absurd. Right now he was used to stave off men trying to hit on her by making it look like she was dating him.

/0/

Moments before the incident…

Blake looked for Jaune right after she parted with the group.

Blake was worried about him. During the time at the mall, she noticed that something was wrong with Jaune. The others didn't noticed but she did. His fake laughs and smiles felt empty. Something was clearly bothering him like before. The past few days, her relationship with him had improved drastically. After their talk that night she and him started to hang out more and more. It felt nice. It felt like it had been a long time that she felt something like this. Having someone who relates to you in some degree. Her old friends never really shared the same interests as her other than her duties and old ideals when she was at the white fang. That's why she was genuinely worried for her newfound friend. The whole day Jaune looked so distraught. Something happened and she wanted to help him.

Jaune had said that he was looking for a Part-time job. She happens to know a certain book shop that currently needed an assistant. She wanted to find him and tell him about Tuckson's shop.

After awhile, she had almost given up trying to find him. Figured that she would just tell him at the dorm when they meet. Though it would've been awhile till he gets the money for the trip to Vale.

It was by chance that her cat ears heard Jaune's name being uttered.

She followed the voice and saw Jaune was currently being berated by some skank. The insulting went on for awhile. She felt anger well up in her.

Tuckson's shop was nearby so she quickly ran inside. She ignored Tuckson as she entered the back room and grabbed a box of old disguises. Right after she left Adam on that train, she wandered around Vale aimlessly. She was scared and distraught. She didn't know what to do. It was there the former lieutenant of the White Fang: Tuckson found her and gave her a place to stay for awhile before she enrolled at Beacon. She didn't expect her uncle to be here in Vale of all places. People at the white fang said that Tuckson died during a mission.

She quickly changed into cheap yet stylish clothes and light makeup and went back for Jaune.

/0/

They both finally reached a small bookstore with the sign.

[Tuckson's Book Trade]

And went in. It was lucky too since rain started to pour heavily outside.

"There you are, I was wondering where you run off to after you-" Tuckson came out from the back room.

Blake didn't say anything as she walked passed Tuckson and went into the back room.

Tukson looked at Jaune questioningly but Jaune shrugged.

"So, who are you?" Tuckson looked at Jaune questioningly.

"Jaune Arc, one of her friends at Beacon."

"She has friends?" Tuckson looked surprised.

"Course she does. Why wouldn't she?"

"Err… right. Well my name's Tuckson, this is my shop." Tuckson extended a hand to Jaune.

"Nice shop. You've got some really rare book here." Jaune said as he looked around the shop.

"Oh, so youre a book enthusiast."

"Yep."

A moment later Blake came out with the clothes she wore during their trip from the mall.

"Jaune, this is Tuckson… my… uncle." Blake said as she fixed her hair.

"We already introduced each other." Jaune said smiling.

"Oh, thats makes it easy then."Blake said before she turned to Tuckson.

"You wanted an assistant right? Jaune here's currently looking for a part time job to pay for his day to day expenses." Blake gestured to Jaune.

Tuckson looked at Jaune as if he was sizing him up.

"Is that so? Would you like to be an assistant book shopkeeper here Jaune? The pay is alright but it would depend on how many hours you work."

Jaune perked up.

"If its alright with you. Yes! I'll try my best."

"Alright then. Just tell me your class schedule so I can adjust your work shift. You okay with working on Weekends?"

Jaune nodded enthusiastically.

"Good. Just email me your resume and you'll start working as soon as I adjust your shift."

"Thank you sir!"

"Don't call me sir. You can call me Tuckson. A friend of Blake's a friend of mine." Tuckson gave him a toothy grin and pat his back.

"Now if you'll excuse me I have to file some delivery papers. You kids behave here in my shop." Tuckson said as he winked at Blake to which she rolled her eyes.

"So this is where you get your books early." Jaune mused.

"Helps to have connections. That and he's my uncle." Blake replied.

Jaune turned to Blake.

"Blake... Thank you. Really" Jaune looked at her with a soft smile.

Blake almost blushed but she tried to hide it. That sincerity is dangerous...

"I just wanted to help my friend." Blake said with a smile.

"So I guess… you wanted to know what that was about huh?"

Jaune sat on a reading table and Blake sat opposite of him.

"Not really, I already figured out when I heard her say 'Ex'"

'So she didn't hear about my real name?... good.' Jaune said in his thoughts.

"What I want to know is what's been bothering you the whole day."

Jaune looked at her in surprise.

"You may be able to fool the others but not me. Jaune something is clearly bothering you. Just look at yourself. You look so stressed out. I don't think the others noticed before but they will now."

Jaune sighed and smiled in defeat…

"You and your sharp eyes… so you really want to know huh?... do you promise not to tell anyone?"

Blake was the one surprised this time. He trusts her this much?...

Blake nodded.

"I promise..."

"Pinky promise?" Jaune held out his pinky finger.

Blake rolled her eyes to which Jaune chuckled.

"Pinky promise." Blake smiled as she locked her pinky finger with his.

Jaune then turned his expression into somewhat of a serious look.

And so Jaune begins to tell Blake about what Ozpin had told him. About shinra. About SOLDIER. About the life stream and Blake listened on. He left out the parts about his family and his disgraceful forging of transcripts or the fact that he had no training before going to Beacon. He told her about his worries. His fears. His anxiety regarding all of this. He even told her about the incident at the mall. Jaune felt like he could trust this girl. He didn't know why. Though he had a feeling that this was 'that' feeling. The feeling of infatuation with her…

...But past experiences told him to just kill this infatuation…pursuing romance would just end terribly like so many times before... instead he would just like to be her friend. A trusted friend. It hurt but it would hurt more if it continued on.

The rain kept pouring outside the shop. The hour was late. Tucson offered Jaune and Blake to stay for the night. To which they agreed. But their talk continued on.

/0/

As the rain poured on the city of Vale, on a certain condemned building. A silver haired man covered in bandages stood on top of the building's roof. Looking down on the city of Vale. His body was sickly, his hair was greasy even when wet, he had no top on and his pants were on tatters, he was barefooted. His slit eyes glowed in the darkness. His face contorted into rage and insanity.

"They dare… abandon me… They dare throw me away like garbage!"

 _'Another failure…'_

The man weezed.

"I'll show them...I'll show them that I'm the only one! I'm the strongest one! I will be the one to achieve perfection!"

 _'at least he didn't turn like the others did'_

He screamed at Vale.

"You're here! I know you're here!... IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! THEY THREW ME AWAY BECAUSE OF YOU!"

 _'… a lost cause. Throw him out …you can't even hear his voice can't you?'_

"I AM THE TRUE CATALYST! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ALPHA! I'LL SHOW YOU A TRUE CATALYST! AHAHAHAAHAHA!"

The thunder roared as the man cackled madly in the rain.

[=== to be continued]

* * *

Sorry for the long wait! I hope you guys enjoyed this!

Now onto the A/N

-We are now arriving at Blake's arc. Skipped Jaune's cannon Arc because it was unnecessary.

-A lot of things happen outside of the school. In a world full of heroes, there are always stories to tell other than the main cast.

-There will be no connection with Red vs Blue in this fic, all the names of the mysterious girls are codenames like RED XIII

-I've wrote Glynda here to be younger than most fics take her. She's 26 here.

-Denzel Skye. Sky relates to cloud so I named him that since he didn't really have a last name to work with.

-"There's a guy with a bajillion swords on his back that combines into a larger sword and had just killed most of our comrades…. Let's attack him!"

-I made a mistake on Cloud's fusion sword I know. It's called a fusion sword. Thank you for pointing it out.

-The kingdoms are keeping secrets from the public? Gasp!

-Not much action scenes on Jaune's group for now. But surely there would be next chapter.

-The girls are not remnants? Gasp!

-There are remnants. But theyre busy somewhere else.

-The past repeats itself if we don't learn from it.

-With great power comes with great consequences.

* * *

 _ **Comment replies! Yay!**_

 **Comments covered: Temp. Announcement and Chapter 6**

 **Announcement comments:**

 **=Blueghast900**

\- From most fics I read, the authors seem to stop at 3k for some reason. I'm a complete newbie so I don't know much.

 **=Voidmaster** , **Ultimate Kuuga** , **youngsavage**

-Thank you very much! I'll try my best!

 **=Holyknight5**

-Thank you for the awesome comment, really gave me lots of encouragement. My friend's the type to read short stories so that maybe it. His attention span maybe low so It can't really be helped. Though that 60k per 3-4 months though. That is a lot. Like, wow. Anyway thank you again. Your comment really helped me a lot.

 **Chapter 6 Comments:**

 **=Captain SteeleStag**

-did you really think that the honey badger was running from the deathclaw?! HA! The honey badger hunted down the deathclaw's family alone bare pawed. The deathclaw was only following it because the honey badger made it its slave. The deathclaw would've left our main characters alone if the honey badger didn't tell it to attack them for its amusement. Our main characters probably saved this poor deathclaw from a life of servitude and suffering by giving it a painful death.

 **=flamelegendvargas**

-Yeah, my mistake. I'll correct it in future chapters. And thank you!

 **=Axcel**

-Wow thank you very much for all these comments! I never really knew the functions between a curved sword and a straight sword since I mostly know them through media. Not much of an expert here so thanks. I just thought that katanas were made for speed. Also yeah I agree. But Jaune is Jaune here, he's still the softie that we know and love albeit modified a bit.

= **Xealchim**

-Was testing out the features on the Fanfic app. Didn't realize that it doesn't change the settings instantaniously. It will forever be rated M

= **Suzululu4moe**

-Yeah, there are a lot of paralells on the characters if we combine them. But just to clarify, wasn't Cait Sith an animatronic cat made by Reeve?

Also thank you for your comments!

 **=Ninjafang1331**

-Thank you!

 **=BlitzNeutral69**

-Wanted to show how Jaune would fare without his power. It wouldn't be logical for an untrained person to beat a trained combatant.

 **=SonatiShinonome**

-*Grins evily* Now why do you expect velvet to die?... do you want her to die?

 **=X3runner**

-I know right? Blake hasn't really done much in the group other than go with the flow besides that white fang thing back at volume 1 and 2.

-glad you enjoyed my fight scene. My fights are a bit clunky so im glad you enjoyed it.

-It's true, the only thing the show did to dust was to turn it into ammunition. They never really cared or bothered showing us how they were used outside that.

 **=meeyaaargh3412**

-Thank you for enjoying the chapter!

* * *

 _ **Thanks for reading guys!~ I hope you enjoyed it! Peace for now! Next chapter will come soon!**_

 _ **See you later space cowboy~~~~~**_


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